


Perspectives

by MaurLin



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A Pinch of Salt, F/M, Gen, Identity Reveal, Lila Rossi Lies, Minor Violence, Original Character(s), Post-Episode: s03 Caméléon | Chameleon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-10-19 10:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20655626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaurLin/pseuds/MaurLin
Summary: Chat Noir is worried- not that Lila was akumatized- again- but that something seems off about Ladybug.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Miraculous Ladybug is owned by ZAG and Thomas Astruc- I have no rights to any of these characters.

Cat Noir was worried.

Not about the akuma- or rather, not about the akumatized “victim”. Really, given what had happened earlier, he should’ve expected Lila to be akumatized again. And the warning call from Chloe had given him time for “Adrien” to hide before HeartThief got to the fashion house.

Looking through the skylight, Cat Noir observed the new villain. HeartThief seemed to be taking the energies of anyone she touched, and putting them in a little bag at her waist. She didn’t look that different from her real self, other than the brilliant purple eyes and hair, so it was easy for her to fool people into letting her get close. After the contact, though, the people she touched were completely uncaring of anything happening to them or around them- in fact, they only did mechanically whatever HeartThief told them to do. Cat Noir was just glad she hadn’t told anyone to hurt themselves.

Cat Noir was more worried about Ladybug. Something about her wasn’t quite…right…today. And he knew from experience, that defeating an akumatized Lila would take more effort than the average akuma.

Arriving a few minutes after HeartThief, Ladybug joined Cat Noir on the roof of the Agreste fashion house, but she didn’t jump right into the fight. Her movements were slower than normal- almost deliberate, though if he didn’t know his lady so well, he probably wouldn’t have been able to tell. Although Cat Noir wanted to ask what was wrong, it was pretty clear she was trying to act perfectly normal. He had filled Ladybug in on what he had observed through the skylight, and she didn’t say anything for a second.

Finally, she spoke. “The akuma is in the bag, Cat Noir.” She paused for a moment. “We have to do this quickly.” Another pause. “And you can’t use Cataclysm.”

Her statement shocked him. “Why not? If the akuma is in the bag-“

Ladybug interrupted him. “You just can’t.” She paused again. “There’s a reason.” She hadn’t even really looked at Cat Noir yet, and her eyes were focused only on the villain below, who was searching the entire building and demanding that the people she had affected find Adrien.

Ladybug triggered her Lucky Charm, and a small packet fell into her hand. Cat Noir peered at it over her shoulder. It looked like the portable sewing kits some tailors used.

“A sewing kit? For real?” he asked. She didn’t say anything.

Cat Noir couldn’t see what use the sewing kit was going to be, but apparently Ladybug did. She turned to Cat Noir, and the look on her face made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. She was absolutely expressionless- if he hadn’t known better, he’d have thought the HeartThief had gotten to her somehow.

“Can you distract HeartThief?”

“Of course, milady!”

“Without getting touched?”

Cat Noir forced a grin. Maybe he could defuse some of her tension with a joke. “It wouldn’t matter if she did. HeartThief can’t steal what you already have!” He picked up her hand and dropped a kiss on her knuckles.

Cat Noir had hoped for a reaction to this, to counter the weird feeling in his gut. A sigh, a sarcastic comment- he would have settled for an eyeroll. Any kind of normal reaction out of Ladybug.

But she didn’t react at all, except to remove her hand from his. She barely even blinked. “We need to draw her outside.”

Cat Noir dropped the smile. Her behavior was so off, he couldn’t let it go at that. “Ladybug, are you-“

Ladybug interrupted him again. “I’m fine.” She paused, then said with a small, tight smile, “But we need to hurry.”

It was clear Ladybug didn’t intend to tell him anything else right now. But Cat Noir was going to get her to talk before her miraculous ran out.

The fight wasn’t much of one, to Cat Noir’s surprise. Although HeartThief had probably expected Ladybug to ambush her the second she chased Cat Noir out of the building, she didn’t expect the thin tape measure stretched out at ankle height across the door. Tripping and falling on her face, HeartThief didn’t have time to recover before Ladybug had come up next to her, cut the bag from her hip with the seam ripper and was tearing it in two. A black and purple butterfly fluttered out, and HeartThief became Lila again.

Ladybug caught the akuma in her yoyo, and tossed the sewing kit in the air. “Miraculous Ladybug!”

Cat Noir could see the news anchor, Nadja Chamack, and her camera crew had just arrived and was filming the scene. How they knew to come here, Cat Noir had no idea, but most citizens knew to report any weirdness they saw, and HeartThief had been roof-hopping through the city until she arrived here. The television crew was next to the tree near the door of the Agreste fashion house. From the angle, though, Cat Noir was sure Lila hadn’t seen them, although Ladybug probably could.

The magic ladybugs swirled, and through the doors Cat Noir could hear people returning to normal, asking each other what happened. Then his cat hearing caught something else- he noticed Ladybug’s breathing, which was short and shallow. Before he could follow up on it, the ladybugs swirled one last time, restoring the torn bag into a girl’s purse.

A familiar girl’s purse. Pink, round, with black floral embroidery and a red-and-brass clasp, it looked an awful lot like-

Ladybug picked up the purse slowly, and approached Lila. “This is not yours,” she stated in a flat tone.

Lila put on a bright, confused smile. “What do you mean? Of course it’s mine; my friend Marinette gave it to me for my birthday.”

Cat Noir had heard some whoppers out of Lila, both as himself and as Adrien, but this one was unbelievable to anyone who knew both girls. He shook his head slightly; what was Lila thinking?

Ladybug was not put off. “You are not Marinette’s friend.” She lifted the purse up. “I’m giving this back to her.”

A panicked look shot across Lila’s face for a split second, and she grabbed Ladybug’s arm. “You can’t right now, she’s…out of town. A family emergency. She won’t be back for a few weeks.”

Another lie, Cat Noir knew. Marinette had been in school that morning, and he had planned to talk with her later as Adrien. He narrowed his eyes in speculation; something was very wrong here…

And Ladybug seemed to know it, too. Shrugging Lila’s hand off, she spoke slowly, but with disgust in every word. “Every time we’ve met, you’ve lied to me. You’ve lied to others about me. I can’t believe you now.” She walked away from Lila, towards Cat Noir. “Let’s go.” Her earrings beeped a warning; she slung her yo-yo into the sky and swung up to the rooftop.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cat Noir saw Nadja approaching Lila from behind. It was a good thing no one else could see the anger and-fear? on Lila’s face before she cleared her expression. Cat Noir extended his staff, pole-vaulting to the roof; he was determined to get some kind of answer out of Ladybug before she had to leave.

Cat Noir landed on the rooftop of the fashion house, expecting Ladybug to have kept going. Instead, he found her in the shadow of an electrical shed. She was bent over, hands on her knees and head hanging a little.

“Ladybug?” Her breath was coming faster and even shallower than before.

“Are we watched?” She took a couple of breaths. “Any cameras?”

“No. Ladybug, what’s wrong?” His heart clenched.

She reached out to brace against the wall, but was more than an arm’s length from it. Cat Noir caught her as she started to fall. He lowered her to the gravelly rooftop, leaning her up against the shed wall.

Ladybug winced in pain. “Cat Noir…I need you to…do something…for me…” She paused to catch her breath. “I was hurt…before the akuma attack…the miraculous helped…but I need…a doctor…”

Cat Noir was horrified; what could have happened to her? “I can get you to the hospital, but how will we explain-“

Her hand on his arm stopped him. ”No, this is…more important…I need you to…take my miraculous…back to Master Fu…He needs to…find another Ladybug…”

Cat Noir shook his head- this couldn’t be happening. “No- you’re not-“ She couldn’t be- his mind wouldn’t complete the thought.

But Ladybug seemed to know what he was thinking anyway. She gave him a pained, short smile. ”I’ll be okay, Cat…just not for awhile…Hawkmoth won’t wait…Paris needs a Ladybug…” Her eyes were glazing over a little, and her earrings beeped again. ”Tikki will explain…everything…promise me…please, kitty…”

Cat Noir flinched and his insides twisted. She was fading, right in front of him, and she was more concerned about Paris than herself. He couldn’t say no- not for her or for Paris. “All right, I will.  After you go to the hospital!”

Her smile was weak, but there. “Deal…sorry to have to…show you…who I am…this way…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Cat Noir picked up the purse where Ladybug had dropped it, and put it in her lap. “And don’t worry about this, either. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Not worried…about that…” Her smile got a little wider, and her eyes closed. She whispered, “Spots off.”

A pink surge of energy raced around Ladybug, and Cat Noir stared in disbelief and shock. Disbelief because…it was Marinette in front of him.  _ Ladybug- is Marinette?  _ Now some things about her words to Lila made a whole lot more- and less- sense.

The shock was for the clear damage she’d taken. Her mask had covered a livid bruise across the bridge of her nose and under one eye; there was another spectacular example across her collarbone and extending under her jacket, and her forearms and shins had other bruises. From her breathing, Cat Noir was willing to bet she had at least one more bad one across the ribs. Her eyes were open again, but not really focusing on him or anything else, which told him she might have a head injury too. “Marinette?”

She ignored him for a second, slowly raising her hands to her ears and speaking to her kwami- Tikki? “Tikki, go with… Cat Noir please…tell Master Fu…what happened…” She got her earrings loose, wrapped them in a handkerchief she pulled from her purse, and handed them to Cat Noir. “Keep those safe…”

Cat Noir didn’t think his front pocket was the safest place for anything that needed to be hidden- the suit was too tight for that. However, the one in the back was under his staff and could keep the small package hidden, so he put it there. Marinette was handing her kwami a cookie from the purse with a shaky hand. He cleared his throat. “Marinette?”

Marinette didn’t respond, so Cat Noir took her face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. “You still need to get to the hospital. St. Jeanne’s isn’t far from here; can you hold on until we get there?”

She blinked at him dazedly. “I can try…”

Tikki flew up and hid in his hair behind his right ear. Cat Noir picked Marinette up off the rooftop, her arms around his neck. She winced at every step as he bounded away over the rooftops.

Marinette lost her battle to stay conscious about halfway to the hospital. Cat Noir felt her grip slacken, then her arms fell limply down and her head lolled. Cat Noir stopped and set her down across his lap, calling her name; she didn’t react at all. On the one hand, her passing out scared him even more than he already was; on the other, at least now she wouldn’t be jolted with pain every time they landed. Cat Noir wondered how on earth was he going to explain this to the doctors without giving away Marinette’s superhero identity.

“Tell the truth,” squeaked a voice in his right ear.

Cat Noir jumped, startled. He’d forgotten that Tikki was there; he turned red as he realized he’d spoken his question out loud. “What do you mean?”

“Tell the doctors the truth- just not all of it.” Tikki flew out of hiding, and gave Cat Noir a serious look. “You found Marinette outside her school. Ladybug had to detransform, so you brought her in. And you don’t know what happened to her.”

Tikki was right- that was the truth. And every second he delayed was time Marinette needed to heal. Cat Noir readjusted his hold on her, supporting her head and tucking her arms in before standing up. He took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Tikki hid again, and said, “Lucky your hair’s so thick, Adrien.”

Cat Noir was so shocked he almost missed a step. “What- how do you-“

Tikki sighed. “You and Ladybug may have closed your eyes during the Dark Owl incident, but Plagg and I didn’t. We’ve known ever since.” She paused, then said quietly, “Not that we’d ever tell even if we could.”

Cat Noir’s mind whirled with the new information, but he shook his head to clear it. There were more important things to do first.

The emergency room doctor and nurses went straight to work on Marinette. An orderly started cutting her jacket off while a nurse waved a vial under her nose. Marinette came awake abruptly, tried to sit up, and fell back, gasping in pain.

“What’s her name?” the doctor asked Cat Noir, who was hovering in a corner out of the way.

“Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

The doctor turned back to her. “Marinette. Can you hear me? Can you tell me what happened?”

Marinette looked dazed. “What happened?” She blinked under the lights and closed her eyes. “Can’t…”

The doctor looked at Cat Noir, who shrugged. He knew the less he said, the better, but if Marinette really couldn’t remember how she got hurt…he didn’t want to think about what that could mean.

The doctor changed his questions. “Marinette.” She opened her eyes again. “Can you tell me what hurts?”

“My head…my side…all over…” She closed her eyes again.

The orderly had finished with Marinette’s jacket and was starting on the rest of her clothes. Cat Noir figured he should leave the room before the orderly got any further- if Marinette found out later, he wanted to honestly say he’d left before he saw too much.

A nurse followed Cat Noir into the waiting room, carrying Marinette’s purse and shoes. “Cat Noir- how are  _ you _ doing?”

He hadn’t realized that anyone could tell how upset he was. He leaned against a wall, slumping a little. “I’m all right; it’s just-“ He didn’t want the nurse to guess that Marinette was Ladybug; he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and choosing his words with care. “This is different from an akuma attack, you know? I can’t -” He found he couldn’t continue.

The nurse patted his arm. “Can’t just make everything okay for them, right?” Cat Noir nodded, relieved that the nurse had found a reason so he didn’t have to. She sighed, too. “We face that all the time here. Not everyone that comes through those doors is someone we can help.” She brightened. “But most are, with a little time and care. You did a good thing, bringing Miss Dupain-Cheng in.”

Cat Noir smiled a little. “You people are the real heroes.” He pushed away from the wall.

The nurse smiled too, then grew serious. “Can you tell us anything more about what happened?”

“No.” Cat Noir was distracted by a news report on the waiting room television about the akuma attack- Lila had been interviewed, and appeared to be relishing the attention. Nadja must have asked about the things Ladybug had said, because Lila was talking about Ladybug taking the purse.

“I don’t know why Ladybug didn’t believe me,” Lila was saying, with a slightly sad smile and wide eyes. “Marinette has been my friend since I came to school. It’s just so sad that she had a family emergency today, and had to leave school for a while.”

Cat Noir narrowed his eyes; the nurse looked from him to the television and back. “Do you think that girl knows something?” she asked Cat Noir.

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” he said grimly.

The nurse nodded. “I’ll make sure her injuries are documented- just in case.” She turned to a worker at the emergency room admittance desk and began to speak quietly to him.

Suddenly the purse rang, sounding like an old-fashioned phone. The nurse reached inside and pulled out Marinette’s cell phone, which had the name “Maman” under the alert. The nurse handed it to Cat Noir, who gave her a ‘what am  _ I _ supposed to do with this?’ look. But he couldn’t just let it go to voicemail- Marinette’s parents needed to know where she was.

He tapped the accept. “Mrs. Dupain-Cheng?”

_ “Who is this, and how did you get my daughter’s phone?!?” _

“It’s Cat Noir. Mrs. Dupain-Cheng- Marinette’s in the emergency room at St. Jeanne’s. You and your husband should come as soon as you can.”

He heard a gasp on the other end of the line.  _ “Oh no- is she-“ _

“She’s injured; I don’t know how badly or what happened to her.”

Mrs. Dupain-Cheng sounded upset.  _ “Nadja called because someone told her Marinette was out of town, but she knew Marinette was supposed to babysit her daughter tonight. I was trying to find out- what could have happened to her?” _

Cat Noir had turned on the speakerphone as Marinette’s mom spoke, and now the nurse took over. “She doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger, but she is badly hurt. We need your permission to conduct some tests. Can you come as soon as possible?”

Cat Noir took this as his cue to leave. Marinette was in good hands, and much as he wanted to stay with his lady, he- or his other self- was already going to be missed. Besides, he had a promise to keep. He handed the phone to the nurse and left the emergency room. Vaulting to the rooftops, he headed back to the fashion house as fast as he could.

Tikki squeaked in his ear again. “I need to direct you to Master Fu’s place.”

“We can’t go there yet. I- Adrien- have to get back to the Agreste fashion house before people ask too many questions. We’ll go to Master Fu’s as soon as my schedule allows.”

Tikki made an unhappy noise. “I don’t like this- but you’re right. There’s no point in being careless.”

Back at the fashion house, Cat Noir snuck in through the ventilation hatch he had used to leave in the first place. He detransformed in the men’s room, gave Plagg a chunk of camembert, and had Plagg and Tikki both hide in his shirt. Adrien checked his jeans’ back pocket to make sure the handkerchief was still there, and then headed out.

As he exited the bathroom, Nathalie…well, didn’t pounce, but the next best thing for someone who rarely showed any feeling. “Adrien. Where have you been?”

Adrien gave her what he hoped was a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head. “Right now, or most of the afternoon?”

Her look was forbidding. “Adrien…”

“I was hiding during the akuma attack, but I didn’t know when it was safe to come out, and then, well…” He shrugged and glanced toward the bathroom door.

Nathalie sighed. “We are out of time for the rest of your fittings for the Gala today; we will have to reschedule for tomorrow. You need to get back to school for your last class and fencing lessons.” She moved away.

Adrien took a deep breath. How could he concentrate on school now? He moved to follow, stopping by the fitting area to pick up his school bag.

In the car, Nathalie reminded him, “Remember to be sure to speak to Miss Dupain-Cheng. We really do need an answer as soon as possible.”

Adrien’s insides twisted, but he put on a smile. “As soon as I see her, Nathalie.”

Walking into the school, Adrien felt a jerk on his sleeve.

“Alya?”

“Come over here, right now.” Alya pulled Adrien over to the corner of the courtyard, where Nino was waiting. Both of them had worried expressions.

“Dude, have you seen Marinette?” asked Nino.

_ Oh, boy _ . Adrien shook his head. “I haven’t been here, remember? I asked you to make sure she stayed for me to talk to this afternoon?”

Alya looked nervous. “Well…no one’s seen her since Lila was akumatized. Chloe said she left school to go home, but she’s not answering my texts and no one’s picking up at the bakery. I don’t know what to think anymore.”

Nino touched Alya’s shoulder. “I don’t think it has anything to do with Lila’s theory.”

“What else could it be? Marinette disappears all the time, and  only when there are akuma attacks. It’s got to be true-but it  _ can’t _ be-“

Adrien’s heart lurched. Had Alya- or Lila- guessed that Marinette was Ladybug? “What theory? What are you talking about?”


	2. Alya's Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya doesn't know what happened- but she needs to find the truth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These characters are owned by ZAG and Thomas Astruc- I have no rights to any of them.

Alya was more than a little disturbed by the idea. It couldn’t be- but what else fit?

Everyone in Ms. Bustier’s class had been assigned to a literature study group last Friday. Alya’s group was herself, Rose, and Lila. She thought Ms. Bustier was crazy at first, or possibly just wanted to break friends up so that they might actually learn to work with others. It was okay, though. Rose and Lila she could work with, even if Marinette didn’t approve of Lila.

Honestly, Alya didn’t get the instant animosity Marinette had for Lila- the girl might exaggerate a little, that was easy for anyone to do, but she wasn’t a deliberate, malicious liar like Marinette seemed to think. The things she did in her life were interesting to listen to, and Alya didn’t think Lila would lie about that when the truth was so much easier to tell.

Halfway through their Friday study session in the library, Rose took a break to find a book in the upper-level stacks. Lila leaned in to Alya across the corner of the table.

“Alya,” she said sincerely, “I need to ask you a few things. About Marinette.”

“What about her?” This was strange. Lila had generally ignored Marinette since the day after coming back to school; an attitude Marinette seemed to agree with and practice on Lila herself (except when Adrien was involved).

“Well…Marinette doesn’t seem to like me, so I can’t ask her…” Lila hesitated. “I was just wondering…because nearly everyone in our class has been akumatized except her…why is she different?”

Alya hadn’t thought about it. She shrugged. “Probably because she’s a kind person who doesn’t get angry easily. Hawkmoth wouldn’t find much to work with there.”

“Unless…” Lila bit her lip. “No, that’s too crazy.”

Alya blinked. “What are you talking about? What’s too crazy?”

Lila looked down at the desk, then up at Alya through her lashes. “I was looking at all the akuma reports from the LadyBlog. It just seemed weird to me that so many came from our class. Then I noticed that the only person who hadn’t been akumatized in our class is Marinette, so I wondered why…”

“She’s not the only one. Adrien hasn’t been,” Alya corrected her.

“Yes but…Adrien has a crazy schedule so he’s not in class half the time. But Marinette always seems to find a way to leave when an akuma shows up. You know that’s true.”

Alya did know. She’d had to return Marinette’s backpack to her more often than she cared to admit. But Marinette always had a reason- even if some of the reasons seemed lame…

“It just seems to me,” Lila continued, “that it can’t be a coincidence that so many akumas come here. What if…someone in the school is helping Hawkmoth?”

_ That _ one came out of nowhere. “Are you nuts, Lila? Who in their right mind would help that villain?”

“I’m just saying…maybe it’s no coincidence. That’s all.” Lila moved away as Rose came back down from the stacks and headed for their table.

Alya fretted over Lila’s conclusions most of the weekend. She knew her overactive imagination, and had tried to rein it in ever since she mistook Chloe for Ladybug and got turned into Lady Wi-Fi. There had to be proof, somewhere-she’d learned that lesson, at least.

But Marinette did disappear, on a fairly regular basis. And, now that Alya thought about it, always after an akuma showed up.

But if it was after, how could it possibly be because of something Marinette caused?

Except- she had never been akumatized. And Alya knew Marinette could get mad, or upset, or frustrated, or any other negative emotion. So why wasn’t she on the “once targeted by black butterfly” list?

Except- it wasn’t Marinette’s way to stay upset for long. She was pretty cheerful, if easily flummoxed. And she always tried to help people- would someone helping Hawkmoth do that?

Alya’s thoughts went round and round in a circle. What was the reason?

She wanted to talk to Marinette, and didn’t want to, all at the same time. Lila’s speculations ate at her brain all Saturday and part of Sunday, before Alya concluded she had to at least discuss this with her best friend. Not an accusation. Just a discussion.

Alya should have known Marinette wouldn’t take it well.

“Someone helping Hawkmoth at the school? Who would do such a thing? And why?” The idea seemed to upset Marinette a lot.  _ More than it should? _ Alya wondered.

Marinette’s room was a shambles. She had been working on a presentation for a class rep meeting on Monday (complete with posters, handouts and a miniature cardboard three-D model of the school). Between that and the latest sewing projects, the floor and the desk was littered with paper and fabric scraps. Alya had taken refuge from the chaos on the only clear space- the chaise lounge.

Marinette herself had taken to pacing around the room, heedless of the garbage. “That makes no sense! There isn’t anyone in Paris who could be as evil as Hawkmoth!”

“It’s just a crazy idea-someone-came up with.” Alya thought leaving Lila out of it might make Marinette able to consider the notion more calmly. “They pointed out how many akumatized villains came from our school, and thought- well, someone at school must be helping. Someone who had never been akumatized.”

Marinette stopped dead and appeared to be thinking. “A lot of the kids in our class have been akumatized. I don’t know about the other ones.”

Alya braced herself. “In our class, there are only two people who haven’t been. Adrien…and you.”

Marinette shot a glance at Alya. “And- someone- thought that I might be Hawkmoth’s –what? Assistant?”

Alya hastened to add “I don’t believe it. But they said you always disappear during an akuma attack, and wondered…” She trailed off at the hard look in Marinette’s eyes.

“I bet I can guess the ‘someone’,” muttered Marinette. She started pacing again. “And of course I can’t prove anything, because how do you prove you DIDN’T do something?!?”

Marinette might have continued in that vein for a while, but she slipped on a stray piece of satin and landed butt-first directly on the model of the school sitting on the floor. She groaned and fell backward, crushing the model even more.

Alya tried to laugh it off. “Don’t worry. No one who knows you will ever believe it.” But Alya wasn’t so sure herself. And she was pretty sure Marinette knew that too, so she changed the subject. “Girl, did you really need a model of the school for your presentation?”

Marinette gave her a look before throwing one arm over her eyes. “It’s the best way to explain how it would work.”

“You know, you’re overthinking this.”

“You’re right, you’re right.” Marinette got up and dusted herself off. “I’ll just make another poster.” 

She got out some supplies, and Alya decided to show support by sweeping the floor and dumping the ruined model in the trash. But she couldn’t help looking over at Marinette whenever those thoughts crossed her mind.

By lunchtime Monday, however, things looked a lot different.

Alya considered the uncomfortable scene she had just witnessed, and was grateful that Marinette had been in that meeting. Alya had taken refuge in the library, not feeling up to a lunch hour spent eating when her gut was in knots and her mind wouldn’t shut up.

Was it Lila who was right? Or Adrien? Alya groaned and buried her face in her arms. She was supposed to spend her free period after lunch here doing research with Rose and Lila, but, after this…Alya had rather not see Lila just yet. Or anyone else, if she could avoid it.

Naturally, that was the universe’s cue to send someone in. At least it picked Rose.

“Wow, that was…awkward.” Rose sat at the table next to Alya, setting down her tablet and a couple of books.

“No kidding.”

“You know, there might be a reason for Lila saying what she did.”

Alya was pretty sure Rose meant the courtyard incident and not the poison Lila had been saying last Friday. But the trouble was, those were the words she was stuck on. “I don’t care about what Lila said today. I’m more worried about what she said to me last week.” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Marinette come into the library; she quickly turned towards Rose so Marinette wouldn’t come over. She just did not want to face Marinette right now.

Marinette must have gotten the hint, since her footsteps went to the stacks on the left.

Rose asked, “What did she say?”

Alya wanted to tell someone- other than Marinette- but it didn’t seem right to talk about the questions Lila had raised.

“Just something that I’m not sure I believe. Or should.”

Rose fidgeted with her tablet for a minute. Alya was still listening for Marinette, who had left the stacks and walked to the door. The sound of the door closing made Alya feel a bit better; she didn’t want to think anything bad of her best friend, and there must be a way to prove Lila wrong about Marinette, but until she could-

Better to keep some distance. Just in case Lila was right.

Then Rose seemed to make up her mind. She opened her mouth to speak, just as a series of thuds startled them from the direction of the courtyard. They waited a minute, but nothing came of it, so Rose tried again.

“I know we all want to believe Lila. She knows so many famous people, and leads such a glamorous life. But I don’t believe anymore that she really has that kind of life.”

Alya furrowed her brow. “Why not?”

“You know Prince Ali? From the kingdom of Achu? He and I have been pen pals ever since we met when I was…akumatized.” Rose blushed. “I really should have been more careful…Anyway, I sent him a letter when Lila came back, asking him about her visit with him, and what he thought of her.” Rose looked down, and traced a crack in the tabletop with her finger.

“And? What did he say?” Alya was intrigued- this was new information.

“He said that he had never heard of a girl named Lila.” Rose looked back up, her eyes troubled. “So, if Lila lied for months about where she was and what she was doing- and that video chat would have been a pretty elaborate lie- what else is she lying about?”

Alya didn’t know. But Marinette had been right about the video chat; she knew that now.

However, there were still Marinette’s disappearances…

Alya’s thoughts were circling while she tried to focus on what she had learned, but they were rudely interrupted by a loudspeaker announcement. “Akuma attack in progress. Please shelter in your classrooms or school areas as a precaution.”

Rose looked at Alya. “I guess we’re here for now. Wonder who it is?”

Alya checked her phone. No word on the news feed there- how had the school known before the city? But this would be the perfect time to find Marinette and prove Lila wrong.

Except- again- Marinette was nowhere to be found. Alya could only find her backpack at the bottom of the library stairs, broken open and the contents scattered. Where was she?

******************************************

Adrien rounded on Alya. “I can’t believe you even  _ thought _ Marinette could be helping Hawkmoth. She’s done more to help people than just about anyone in school!”

Alya fiddled with her bag’s strap, looking wretched. “I know. But I can’t let it go until I know where she went. Lila came back awhile ago; she said that Marinette told her she had to leave for a family emergency before she was akumatized. But Chloe told me earlier that Marinette didn’t leave until after Lila- I mean, HeartThief left.” Alya’s face crumpled, and she set her jaw stubbornly. “I just need to know what happened!”

Adrien closed his eyes and thought quickly. “Why don’t you try her phone again? Maybe call, instead of text- her alerts could be off.”

Alya seemed grateful for the suggestion. She took her phone out of her bag and punched in the contact, putting it on speaker so Nino and Adrien could hear too.

To her surprise, (but not Adrien’s) Marinette’s mother answered.

“Mrs. Dupain-Cheng? I was trying to call Marinette. She’s not at school.”

Marinette’s mother sounded shaky, but she tried to break it to Alya gently. _ “Alya, sweetie… Marinette’s in the hospital.” _

Alya covered her mouth, and Nino put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. Her hand holding the phone shook. “What? What happened?”

_ “We don’t know. Cat Noir brought her in after finding her outside the school. She’s injured, but not too badly.” _ Adrien breathed a slight sigh of relief at hearing that.  _ “She has some cracked ribs, a concussion, and a lot of bruises. But she doesn’t remember what happened to her.” _

“Can- can we come see her?” Alya looked guilty- probably as guilty as Adrien felt. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he should have been here; never mind his schedule.

_ “No, sweetie; that’s kind of you, but Marinette is sleeping right now and needs to rest. I’m sure you can come tomorrow or the next day, though- the doctors want her here until they’re sure the blow to the head isn’t going to be a problem. Since she can’t remember, they’re not sure how bad it is.” _

Adrien spoke up. “Do you have a room number, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng? Maybe we could send flowers or something.” He had an ulterior motive for that; perhaps he could visit as Cat Noir if he knew where she was (although flowers were a good idea too).

_ “She would appreciate that, I’m sure. She’s in room 408.” _

_ Perfect _ , he thought.

Alya closed the call and appeared to be thinking. “Marinette’s things were at the bottom of the library stairs. And Rose and I heard noises outside, like something falling down the steps. Do you think…maybe she fell?”

Adrien thought about Lila’s statements to Ladybug. He was pretty sure Lila knew more than she was telling, but there was no proof. “Maybe…” He tried to think of a way to get Alya thinking about other possibilities. “Hey, did you catch the news broadcast about the akuma attack?”

“Nope, sorry dude. Too busy running all over the school,” said Nino.

”I think Ladybug and Lila had some words before Ladybug and Cat Noir left. You might ask her about it for the LadyBlog,” Adrien said. Alya usually interviewed anyone she could regarding Paris’ superheroes. Perhaps Lila would let something slip- unlikely, but he could hope.

“C’mon. We’ll check the broadcast on the way to class,” said Nino. Adrien followed them, taking the handkerchief out of his jeans’ back pocket and slipping it into his school bag. He felt Plagg and Tikki phase out from under his shirt and into the bag too.

The last class was excruciatingly slow, and Adrien couldn’t keep his mind on it. Alya told the class where Marinette was, and most of the class started whispering, asking each other what could have happened. Adrien himself felt disconnected from everyone; all his thoughts were on the girl in the hospital.

He had fencing after this, and didn’t want to face Kagami while his concentration was off. While she was nice enough, she was more than a little competitive, both on and off the fencing strip. Kagami did have a thing for Adrien; he knew that, but he definitely preferred the cooperative partnership he had with Ladybug (Marinette? Who’d have guessed it?) as Cat Noir. Adrien hoped Kagami’s infatuation would fade into friendship over time.

He spent part of class ordering Marinette some flowers on his phone, then decided to ditch fencing and take Tikki and the earrings to Master Fu as soon as he could. Fencing lasted a little over an hour; he could surely go there and back and not be missed too much.

He pulled off his escape without a hitch. Five minutes into fencing, while the class was sorting out into partners for drills, he eased back into the locker room, grabbed the handkerchief from his locker, and headed for the boy’s restroom. Tikki and Plagg followed.

After transforming, Cat Noir headed out the window. Tikki had taken her perch just behind his right ear, and gave him directions to a residential district. Close to the address, Cat Noir dropped into an alley, detransformed, and entered the building, heading for the top floor.

Adrien felt nervous. He had only met this Guardian of the Miraculous once, after all. And what would he think about Adrien’s coming to him with Ladybug’s earrings and kwami? His throat tightened as he thought of Marinette, battered and lying on the emergency room gurney. How could he explain? It felt like a failure.

The door opened as Adrien approached it.

“Adrien? What brings you here?”

As Adrien entered the apartment, he still couldn’t think of what to say. He slowly held out the handkerchief and undid the folds. The ladybug miraculous gleamed on the white linen in his hand, and Tikki flew out of his hair to hover in front of him. He didn’t trust himself to speak.

Master Fu stared at his hand, then addressed Tikki as he took the earrings from Adrien. “What happened to Ladybug?”

Adrien slid onto the floor in a cross-legged posture, slumping over his knees. He was staying right here until he found out, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo...Our first witness has spoken, your Honor. Next, we call to the stand Tikki Kwami.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this. Getting it out of my head has been a relief; finding out other people like it has been a blessing. Thank you for your response to Chapter 1!
> 
> I know the chapters are a bit long; I'm just trying to use the natural story breaks. Thank you for your indulgence.


	3. Tikki's Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tikki is always there for Marinette- but some things she can't help with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters owned by ZAG and Thomas Astruc. I have no rights to these characters.

Tikki had heard the entire conversation between Alya and Marinette on Sunday. After Alya left, she flew down to talk to Marinette.

“Do you think Alya believes Lila?” she asked.

Marinette sighed. “Maybe. We know how caught up she can get in an idea.” She swung around in her swivel chair. “The problem is, Tikki, there’s no way I can defend myself against Lila’s stories. Unless I tell what I’m really doing, Lila can say whatever she wants, and people will believe her.” She got up. “And it’s not the first rumor I’ve heard about me in the last few weeks. Lila is really making good on her threat.”

Tikki knew about that. Slowly, Marinette’s friends had become- not precisely distant, but cooler toward her. The exceptions were Alya (up until now, anyway), Nino, Rose (for some reason-probably just her giving nature), and Adrien.

Tikki tried to point that out. “At least Adrien still believes you. I don’t think he’ll ever listen to Lila after how she tried to trick him.”

“True,” Marinette smiled for a second, then got serious. “He did warn me about calling Lila out on her wild stories, and he’s right- it won’t do any good.”

“You’ll just have to live through it.” Tikki was sympathetic, but to be honest- kwamis lived a long,  _ looooong  _ time. Small matters such as this would pass, sooner or later. She remembered a previous Ladybug who had nearly been burned at the stake because of lies told by a neighborhood girl. And let’s not forget the small mob intent on hunting another of Marinette’s predecessors with bows and arrows. “And it could be worse.”

“Really?” Marinette gave her kwami a sidelong glance.

“Sure. Lila could be telling everyone that you disappear because you’re Ladybug.”

Marinette smiled a little more. “You’re right, Tikki. I should be grateful Lila isn’t guessing how I  _ really _ spend my time.”

“And you have a presentation tomorrow, too. Better finish up that poster.”

Most of a kwami’s life was waiting.

Anyone who thought (if they knew about kwamis, that is) that kwamis were awesome beings because of the power they held never thought about the reality of sitting in a purse listening to endless classes of things they had probably learned in previous owner’s lives. If Tikki hadn’t learned how to mentally get away sometimes, she’d have gone crackers a long time ago. At least Marinette kept a snack supply in her purse, which was a much better situation than most of her past owners’ solutions to carrying a kwami around. Riding in a pompadour was  never comfortable.

Marinette was running into school with all her presentation supplies, with no time to stop by her locker to drop them off even if she could. A message in her email from Principal Damocles’ office had moved the class rep meeting to just after the morning classes, which meant Marinette wouldn’t be able to start lunch on time, much less get to her locker and back. But the message also promised a small snack at the meeting, and that those who presented could leave after their presentations to the school board representatives. The attached meeting minutes put Marinette first on the list, so she couldn’t be late.

Tikki listened to Alya talking to Marinette as she slid into her seat.

“Girl, why’d you bring those here?”

“I got a message this morning- the meeting got moved up. I have to go straight from morning classes to the meeting, so there’s no time.”

“Hm. Too bad. Adrien wants to talk to you before he leaves at lunch; think you can squeeze him in?”

Tikki heard Marinette’s gasp. “A-Adrien? Talk to me? Why?”

“I don’t know, girl. He’s right there; ask him.”

But a cheerful “Good morning, class,” from the front of the room put an end to the conversation. Tikki decided to take a mental break.

She clicked back into awareness a couple of hours later, when Marinette moved to gather her things.

“Hey Marinette- can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Uh, yeah, I mean yes Adrien- but I can’t right now; I have to get to my meeting. After?” Tikki could feel Marinette slowly descending the classroom steps.

“I’ll be gone until the last class- formal fittings.” He paused. “But I can talk to you before class this afternoon?”

“Absotively- I mean posilutely- um, sure. Talk to you then.” Marinette started to move across the floor, then abruptly stopped for an instant before continuing on.

Marinette’s presentation went well, in Tikki’s estimation. Marinette was clear and articulate about her class charity fundraising proposal. Her allotted time passed quickly, and ten minutes later, Marinette was out of the meeting as the next rep began his presentation to the board.

Marinette went to the lunch room, and then stopped. Tikki looked up at her through the top of the purse, which Marinette had left open. Marinette seemed to be looking around for someone, but Tikki couldn’t ask in the crowded room.

Then she heard the not-quite-whispers at the tables next to Marinette.

_ “What makes Dupain-Cheng so special?” “Can you believe that scene?” “It’s not like she deserves him.” _

Marinette turned and left the cafeteria. The courtyard was empty.

“Tikki, what are they all talking about?” Marinette’s voice and eyes were troubled.

Tikki didn’t have any better idea than Marinette did. She gave Marinette her best sympathetic look and shrug.

Marinette looked away. “We’ll go to the library. I didn’t see Alya, so that’s probably where she is. Maybe she knows what’s going on.”

But as Marinette entered the library, she hesitated, then turned to the side. She looked down at Tikki again, lifted the purse to her face, and whispered, “Alya’s here, but she’s talking to Rose and she turned away from me. Maybe I can try to ask her later.” She looked a little upset.

Kwami voices were not exactly made for whispers, so Tikki didn’t answer. But Marinette was alone, so she flew up to touch Marinette’s cheek briefly before diving back into the purse.

Marinette clicked the purse shut and left the library; Tikki could hear her closing the heavy door.

Suddenly Marinette jerked to the side. Tikki heard a gasp of pain, and another girl’s low voice.

“I told you Adrien would be  mine .”

Tikki was unable to see who it was, and Marinette was weakly struggling to move. “What-“ she said faintly. It sounded to Tikki as if the breath had been knocked out of her.

“ _ You _ just have to get out of the picture.”

Marinette moved sharply then, spinning slightly, and Tikki felt the purse around her in freefall. There was a series of thuds as Marinette fell, ricocheting off what must have been walls and stair steps. Tikki braced herself as the purse popped open. Now would be a lousy time to be seen.

Marinette ended up on all fours at the bottom of the library stairs; Tikki could see her shaking her head as if to clear it. Marinette staggered upright and toward the metal steps to the courtyard, but apparently her tormentor wasn’t finished. A sharp shove sent Marinette down the second round of steps.

Tikki took the opportunity to phase through the purse and the stairs; hiding beneath the metal riser, she could see without being seen. Marinette ended up on her right side, facing the stairs. This time, Marinette didn’t get up; though her eyes were open and staring. Her breathing sounded strained. The open purse lay next to her; it must have fallen off somewhere on the way down.

A girl sauntered down the steps and stopped in front of Marinette. It was Lila.

“You should leave for good,” Lila stated, looking down at Marinette with her hands clenched into fists. She gave Marinette a vicious kick to the left side of her ribs. Marinette lost her breath and doubled over, clutching her side.

Tikki noticed a fluttering black shape floating down to the courtyard. An akuma!

Lila heard it and looked up. “Aww, are you  angwy ?” she said in a baby voice. “Well, I won’t just take Adrien from you- I’ll take this and your akuma too.” She smirked. “Then I can get rid of Ladybug as well.” Lila picked up the purse, and reached out to grab the akuma gently. She stepped away from Marinette, placed the purse on her shoulder, and touched the akuma to it. Hawkmoth’s purple visor appeared over Lila’s face, and she began speaking to him.

Tikki took advantage of Lila’s distraction to zip to Marinette’s jacket. Marinette saw Tikki move, but had the sense to stay still. Lila was saying something about defeating her rival, and now she was going to take the hearts of everyone, including her love. Tikki growled slightly at hearing what Lila called “love”.

Lila transformed into HeartThief, then said “Now, to find him!” There was the sound of someone landing on the roof, and the courtyard was quiet again.

Marinette moaned as she tried to move. Slowly she got to her hands and knees.

Tikki heard someone huff nearby. “What’s wrong with  _ you _ ?” It sounded like Chloe.

Marinette lifted her head. “Chloe?” She panted for breath. “You need to call Adrien.”

“Well, I’ll gladly call Adrikins. But why?”

“Tell him the akuma’s….coming for him. Warn him…” Marinette had grabbed hold of the balustrade to stand up, and now was slowly making her way toward the door of the school. Behind her Tikki could hear Chloe on her phone, talking to Adrien.

Marinette was most of the way to the school’s front door when Chloe caught up. “Where do you think  _ you’re _ going?” Chloe asked.

“Home,” Marinette said weakly.

“You don’t  _ need _ home; you  _ need _ a doctor.”

“I’ll go from home…” Marinette’s tone, weak as it was, seemed to let Chloe know that she was not giving in. “Let the school know…about the akuma… in case she comes back….”

Chloe sounded surprised. “Why me?”

“You’re Queen Bee…they’ll listen…” The invocation of Chloe’s alter ego must have convinced her, for there were rapid footsteps towards the stairs leading to the principal’s office.

Marinette moved slowly outside and down the steps. She ducked- or maybe collapsed- into the bushes next to the stairs.

Tikki flew out of Marinette’s jacket. Marinette looked white as a sheet under the bruises beginning to bloom.

“Tikki- can the…miraculous…help me long enough…to catch the akuma?” Marinette’s breathing sounded pained.

“Yes, it can boost all your physical abilities, including pain management. But Marinette- it won’t last too long; pain will make you slower and wear you down eventually. You’ll have to beat the akuma fast.” Tikki paused. “And you’ll have to see Master Fu afterward. He can use some healing magics on you.”

Marinette shook her head carefully. “No… both Lila and Chloe know… how badly I was hurt… if I heal too fast… we can’t afford…awkward questions…” She paused to breathe and think. “I’ll have to… tell Cat Noir…to take the miraculous…back to Master Fu…Paris still needs…protecting…he can find a…a substitute…”

“That means Cat Noir will know who you are.”

“Can’t be helped…I trust him…Tikki, spots on!”

And Tikki spiraled into the miraculous earrings, to lend her power to the one who needed it.

**************************************************

Adrien sat, horrified, as Tikki finished talking. He couldn’t believe this had happened. This made it all his fault that Marinette got hurt…

Master Fu asked him, “Do you know how badly hurt Marinette is?”

Adrien didn’t register the question at first; he looked at Master Fu blankly for a second, then answered. “Her mom said she wasn’t too bad when we called, but she’s going to be in the hospital at least until tomorrow, maybe longer. Concussion, cracked ribs and a lot of bruises are what I know about. The doctors are just concerned about her memory- she doesn’t seem to know what happened.”

“No, she knows,” Tikki piped up. “But it’s just her word against Lila’s- no one else saw what Lila did. And with the things Lila has been saying about her, I’m sure she thinks no one would believe her.”

Adrien’s gut twisted into knots.

Master Fu and his kwami- Wayzz? - looked concerned. “And how are you doing, Adrien?”

Second time today for that question, and Adrien didn’t have any better answer than the last time. “Um…not great.” He looked away. “It’s my fault this happened.”

Tikki flew up to his face. “No, Adrien, you weren’t there. This can’t possibly be your fault.”

Plagg put in his opinion. “Yeah, it can’t. You didn’t tell Lila to push her.”

Adrien shook his head, and burst out, “If it hadn’t been for me, Lila wouldn’t have done anything! It  _ is _ my fault! And now- we- don’t have a Ladybug!” He didn’t want to stay any longer, and moved toward the door.

Master Fu blocked him from leaving. “We will help Marinette heal and get her miraculous back. We will have to be vigilant, but we can get through this crisis.”

Adrien looked down. “I have to get back before the end of fencing. I’ll be missed if I’m away much longer.”

The Guardian nodded. “Go. But don’t do anything foolish.”

Adrien didn’t intend to. Apologizing to Marinette wasn’t foolish. And-she would blame him as much as he did, once he told her everything- giving up his miraculous after wasn’t foolish either, just the least he could do to make up for it.

Adrien got back to the school with about five minutes to spare. The good thing about fencing uniforms was that everyone looked alike in them once the fencing mask was on. He peeked out the locker room door and blended back into the handful of students milling around.

“So where have you been?”

Kagami. Adrien supposed it was too much to ask, in this disaster of a day, that no one would have noticed his absence. But why did it have to be Kagami? He fell back on a tried and true tactic for not answering questions- asking another one. “Where else could I have been?”

Kagami removed her mask and regarded him steadily out of her almond-shaped eyes. “You should have been here. Mr. D’Argencouer wanted us to have a match, but you weren’t here when we were called up.”

Adrien removed his mask, too. “I’m sorry, Kagami. I had some bad news today, and I had to deal with the fallout.” He looked her in the eyes, willing her to drop it.

Kagami looked at him for another second, and then nodded. “I hope it gets better. You can talk to me about it if you want.” She turned and walked away, and Adrien noticed her brushing quickly at her eyes as she left. He felt bad for having caused her to be upset, but there really was no way to explain everything- or even anything- to her. He’d just have to try and apologize later.

He’d probably be really good at it by then, with all the practice he was going to get.

Adrien saw that the class was breaking up. He ducked back into the locker room before the teacher spotted him, changed, and left, tagging along behind a group so he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone else.

The car was waiting at the curb, and Adrien got in. It was just him and the Gorilla at the moment, which was good; it meant he didn’t have to talk. It gave him the breathing space to get his head together before he got home. He closed his eyes, and planned what he was going to tell Nathalie and his father.

Nathalie was in the entryway. “What did Miss Dupain-Cheng say?”

Adrien looked away. He knew if he met Nathalie’s eyes, she could tell how upset he was. “She wasn’t in school this afternoon. Alya, Nino and I tried to call her, but we could only get her mother. Apparently, Marinette got hurt somehow while I was gone. She’s in the hospital for a couple of days.” He tried to be as impassive as possible, not wanting Nathalie to guess his feelings, or press for more information.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Will you ask someone else? Ms. Rossi, perhaps?” Nathalie appeared not to care particularly about Marinette, except for how she fit into the scheduled plans.

“No. We don’t know how badly Marinette is hurt yet, and I don’t think there’s a reason to ask anyone else.”  _ Especially not Lila, _ Adrien thought. Frankly, he couldn’t care less about those plans at this point. He wished Nathalie would leave him alone.

“All right. Dinner will be with your father tonight; after, you are to practice your piano for the usual time before you go to bed.”

Adrien knew very well that “dinner with Father” really meant “Adrien eat alone while waiting for Father”, which actually didn’t sound like that bad of a plan at the moment. But there was a better alternative, and Adrien didn’t feel like keeping his emotions hidden any longer.

“Actually, Nathalie, could I just have a tray in my room?” He gave Nathalie what he hoped was a tired smile. ”It’s been a long day, and I just want to practice, do homework, and fall asleep.”

Nathalie checked her tablet, and said, “That will do instead. A tray will be up shortly.”

Adrien sighed in relief and headed up the stairs to his room.

He had finished the tray, and as much homework as his mind would let him concentrate on. Now Adrien was at the piano, practicing a complicated piece. While he might have once faked his practice with his portable music player, these days someone- usually Nathalie or the Gorilla, but occasionally his dad- would poke their heads in just to be sure he wasn’t doing exactly that. So Adrien had to wait for bedtime and full darkness.

Adrien finished the practice, turned out the lights and left the window unlocked but closed. He still couldn’t be certain he wouldn’t be checked on. He’d wait another hour before going to see Marinette.

“She’ll be fine, you know,” Plagg said. “And no matter what you think, it  _ isn’t _ your fault.”

“Yes, it is. Lila only would’ve done what she did because of what I did first. That makes me responsible.”

“Why would you be responsible for her decision? No one forced her to do anything.”

Adrien just shook his head. Plagg didn’t understand what a complete mess he’d caused. Did kwamis even  _ have _ to deal with these kinds of things? He curled up on the bed, fully dressed, to wait to leave.

After an hour, he called for Plagg to transform him, and escaped out the window.

Cat Noir was grateful his stick’s computer could show him a layout of the hospital; he could find Marinette’s room without having to go inside the building like a normal visitor. He didn’t want anyone to see him and wonder why he was there. Room 408, fortunately, had a window; even better, it was a private room. Cat extended his staff and balanced on the tip as he peered into Marinette’s room.

He could see the flowers he had sent on the nightstand table beside her, and another couple of bouquets near the privacy curtain by the door. Marinette herself, wearing a green hospital gown, was curled up on the near side of the bed, hair down and spread across the pillow. A second pillow supported her chest as she lay on her right side, her left arm on the top of it and sporting a lurid orange-and-black paper hospital bracelet. She was covered from the waist down with a thin hospital blanket, which was tucked in under the mattress tightly. She had a crease between her brows, although her eyes were closed. Cat Noir suddenly noticed that she was shivering.

Cat Noir entered hastily.  _ She’s cold! _ he thought. As Marinette seemed to be sleeping, he didn’t think trying to pull the blanket up from its tight placement was the best thing to do, so he searched for another answer. A quick look in the cabinet produced a second blanket, although like the first, it looked too thin to do any good.  _ Better than nothing, though. _ Cat Noir shook it out and placed it tenderly over Marinette. He wouldn’t wake her now; he could talk to her tomorrow. He headed back to the window.

“Thank you, Cat Noir,” came a voice from the bed.

Cat Noir nearly tripped over his own tail, he turned around so fast. Marinette was wide awake and looking at him. She gave him a slightly lopsided smile. “I dropped the call button an hour ago, and the doctor said not to move on my own.” She waved her wrist at him, and he noticed the black marks on the bracelet read “RISQUE DE CHUTE”.

Cat Noir dropped to the floor and retrieved the call button, placing it on the nightstand. Regarding her again, he noticed just how battered she looked, even in the dim light, and felt his gut writhe with guilt. At least she was breathing better. He pulled the room’s single chair to the side of the bed and perched on it, knees to his chin and arms around his legs. “I’m sorry,” he began, just as Marinette said it too.

She giggled, and winced. “Right, no laughing,” she said. “My ribs hurt when I do that.” She looked at him again, seriously. “I’m sorry about what happened. I didn’t mean to put all that on you- going to Master Fu, bringing me here, showing you who I am. I knew I could trust you with all of it, though. I just wish I hadn’t had to burden you.”

Cat Noir was startled. “You don’t need to apologize- this isn’t your fault! And you’re not a burden!” He had never thought Marinette might feel guilty over this. She wasn’t to blame at all-he was. “I—can’t believe this is happening,” he mumbled, looking at Marinette over his knees.

Marinette sighed. “Neither can I- and I’m the one it happened to. Tikki told you what happened?” At his nod, she continued. “I don’t want Lila to get away with this. This isn’t just some lie to get attention- this is much bigger than that.” She looked depressed. “But there aren’t any witnesses. It would just be my word against hers. And Lila is much better at getting people to believe her than I am.” Her gaze travelled to the flower arrangement on the nightstand, and a tear dropped from the corner of one eye as she nearly whispered, “Even Adrien wouldn’t believe this…”

Adrien? Marinette worried about what Adrien thought?  _ Why would she do that? _ Cat Noir asked softly, “Why wouldn’t he?”

She stared at the flowers, seeming lost in her thoughts. “Because he always sees the good in everyone, no matter what. It’s one of the things I love about him.” Marinette suddenly seemed to remember who she was talking to, and tried to apologize, putting her hand on Cat Noir’s wrist. “I-I mean…I’m sorry, Cat Noir, I know you love Ladybug- me- and I don’t feel that way for you, but I’ve been in love with Adrien a long time, and-“

Marinette kept talking, but Cat Noir was no longer listening. Marinette-Ladybug- was in love with- him? His non-superhero self? And that’s why she never returned Cat Noir’s affections? He’d been thrown over for his own alter-ego- it would almost be funny, under other circumstances. “Have you told him?” he asked, interrupting her.

Marinette flushed a little, and removed her hand. “No,” she said, looking away. “Bad enough I turn into a clumsy, stuttering idiot any time he’s around. Worse, I’ve overheard him tell people what a  _ good friend _ I am. But every time I try to tell him how I feel,  _ something _ stupid happens; I forget to sign the card, or I give him the wrong note, or an akuma shows up-“ She closed her eyes in embarrassment. “I’m hopeless.”

“I know the feeling,” Cat Noir’s head was spinning. She loved him- for real- he could burst with the happiness and love her felt for her-

And it all came crashing down as he realized what would happen- what SHOULD happen- when he told her the truth. He owed her that much, even if it meant she would hate him afterward. He hid his face in his knees as he tried to figure out where to start.

Marinette put her hand on his wrist again. “Cat Noir, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Cat Noir looked up at her, heart aching and eyes prickling with tears. “You didn’t- you shouldn’t be sorry. Not ever.” He drew in a long breath, trying to steady himself. “You shouldn’t even like me any more- not after today.”

“Cat…” she said, shocked. “What are you saying? You’re my partner!”

He plowed ahead. “It was my fault Lila hurt you, because…” He faltered for a second, then went on. “Because I provoked her. Earlier. While you were at your meeting.”

**********************************************

Marinette was bewildered. How could Cat Noir possibly have provoked Lila? And he knew about her meeting? He didn’t go to her school.

_ That you know of _ , whispered that insistent little voice in her head; the one who reminded her of things she’d rather not think about. Of course Cat Noir could attend any school in Paris; she wouldn’t know, since she didn’t know who he really was. But it seemed he did go to Marinette’s school. And he evidently knew Lila well enough to push her buttons, and there weren’t many at the school who could say that.

Cat Noir looked completely miserable, ears drooping. She couldn’t bear seeing him like this; she held his wrist harder, trying to telegraph some comfort to him. “Cat Noir…I don’t understand. It’s impossible for you to be responsible for this.”

He sighed, and the misery in it broke Marinette’s heart. He whispered something to his knees that sounded like “claws in”; a green energy raced around him, and-

And Marinette’s hand was resting on Adrien’s wrist. She’d know those clothes and that head of hair anywhere, though he was hiding his face in his knees. “Adrien?” she asked, just to be sure.

She started to freak out a little, remembering she had just told Cat Noir-  _ Adrien _ \- about her love for Adrien. Marinette’s face grew hot with embarrassment, and she wanted to sink through the bed.  _ Talk about stupid things happening… _ said the annoying little voice; she tried to cram it back into its mental closet.

The black cat kwami, Plagg, hovered near Adrien. He had a look of concern on his face, and he touched Adrien’s hand briefly before diving into his shirt. Adrien lifted his head, but he didn’t look at her.

Marinette decided that he needed to talk, even if it was painful for both of them. She moved her hand from his wrist to his fingers, and gripped his hand firmly. “It’s all right, Adrien. Please, tell me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ever notice, that it's the good ones who blame themselves, and the bad ones who blame others? So did I. You'll see...
> 
> Thank you for your responses! Honestly, it's a wonder that so many people take the time to leave a comment or a kudo; I'm still in shock.
> 
> This looks like it'll run to eight chapters, but I don't want to tie this down to that number until I'm sure.
> 
> Next, our young hero will tell his side of the story...


	4. Adrien's Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien's guilt is clear- if only to himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc.

Adrien didn’t usually get called on the carpet of his father’s office/study/workroom before school, but today was an exception. Nathalie was there, going over his schedule for the day- morning classes, fittings at the fashion house at lunch and part of the rest of the day, then back for his last class and fencing before coming home. Normally, though, she did this in the entryway or in the car (if she came in the car.) This meant that his father wanted to see him about something he wanted Adrien to do. Probably for the Fashion Gala on Saturday; an annual event that preceded a week of various designers holding shows and displaying the next season’s couture.

Sure enough, here it was. “Adrien, here is the guest list for the Fashion Gala this weekend. You are expected to know something about each of the attendees. Study this list over this week so you will be ready for Saturday.”

This was actually fairly standard for these events his father put on; Adrien was not there to meet people so much as to be shown off to people. To that end, he often was required to learn something about everyone so they would be flattered that he knew about them. Adrien didn’t like it- he thought it was manipulative- but his father had been requiring this since he first started attending these business events as the new model for the Agreste fashion line.

He generally didn’t like the events themselves at all, either, since almost everyone who came was there to be seen, and not to have fun. As such, most of the events tended to be extremely tedious. And of course, there were the half-dozen starred names on the list- the young ladies he was expected to offer a dance to. He cringed internally at one name- Chloe was his oldest friend, but he definitely did NOT want to dance with her. Again.

If only he could invite- well, Ladybug was out of the question, much as he might want to. But someone he would enjoy being around. Someone who might find meeting all these people (most were fashion insiders and models, with some celebrities and politicians thrown in, and maybe their immediate families) fun. Someone like-

His mouth opened before his mind completed the thought. “We should have invited Marinette.”

Adrien’s father looked at him coldly. “What did you say?”

Adrien was shocked at himself, but pulled himself together. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng? You know, the girl who made the hat for our last fashion show? We should have invited her; she has a talent for design, an interest in the industry, and it would be good for her to meet other people in it.” The more Adrien thought about it, the better an idea it seemed to be.

But his father wouldn’t go for it. He shouldn’t have said anything…

“That is -not a bad idea. You are coming of an age where you are expected to have an- interest- in someone, and Miss Dupain-Cheng would make a good…companion…for the evening.” Mr. Agreste regarded Adrien with an air of detachment.

Adrien flushed. Glad as he was that his father approved (sort of), his automatic assumption was embarrassing. “She’s…just a friend…” he muttered under his breath. Still, the chance to go with a friend- maybe this wouldn’t be the dullest evening ever.

“However, you will have to invite her as soon as possible.”

_ Me? But- _ Adrien’s mind froze for a second, then unstuck. Of course he would have to invite her in person. The formal invitations had been sent out months ago; the last ‘regrets’ or ‘accepts’ came weeks ago. It was too late to invite her conventionally.

“And you will need to ask if she has anything…appropriate…for the occasion. If need be, we can alter one of our exclusive line for her if we know by tomorrow.”

Adrien rather thought that, of all the girls he knew, Marinette was the most likely person to have a fancy dress already made and in her closet. He nodded. “I’ll ask her today.”

“Very good. Be sure she knows of your obligations.”

_ Right. The dances and the small talk. _ He’d better make it clear to Marinette just what she would be getting into if she said yes. Hopefully, she wouldn’t get too flustered and say no.

Arriving at school, Adrien got out of the car. Every day here made him smile; it reminded him of a victory won- the right to choose (some of) his own life.

Nathalie caught his attention. “Please remember to invite the young lady as soon as possible, Adrien. We need to add her name to the Gala guest list.”

Adrien winced internally. Enough schoolmates had been close enough to hear that statement, that it would be all over the school by noon that he was inviting someone to the Fashion Gala.

And the first to mention it was Nino. “Dude, you’re inviting someone to that fancy party? Who’s the lucky lady?”

Adrien gave his friend a mock punch in the arm. “You’ll find out soon, I’m sure. She has to say yes by today.”

“Then I’ll just say it right now, Adrikins!” Chloe came up and surprised Adrien with a hug and an attempted kiss. He turned his head so she caught his cheek. “You’re so kind to invite me!”

Adrien unwound Chloe’s arms from around his neck. “I don’t have to invite you, Chlo’. Your parents sent their ‘accepts’ two weeks ago. You’re already on the list.”

She pouted and flounced off, muttering, “Ridiculous!” under her breath. Adrien looked around and saw other schoolmates: Mylene and Ivan, Sabrina, Lila, and Rose. Adrien figured everyone else- including, hopefully, Marinette- was probably already in the classroom.

He got to the classroom in plenty of time to talk to Marinette, but she didn’t.

“Where’s Marinette?” Adrien asked Alya.

“Don’t know. Probably doing something last minute for her presentation.”

“What presentation?” Adrien wasn’t aware of any assignments requiring a presentation, except the literature group assignment he had with Max and Nathaniel. But that one wasn’t due for another three weeks.

Alya answered his question with a distracted air, as if she were thinking about something else. “The one she’s doing for members of the school board as class rep. Some idea for a class charity fundraiser.”

Alya seemed to not know as much as she should, given that she was the deputy class representative and Marinette’s best friend. Adrien wanted to ask what was wrong, but Alya was Nino’s girlfriend. Maybe he’d ask Nino later what was bothering her. “Well, just in case she’s late- can you ask her to talk to me before lunch?” Better sooner than later.

“Sure; I’ll tell her.” Definitely something odd. Alya was normally as curious as a – cat- , especially if there was the potential for Adrien and Marinette to be in the same vicinity. Adrien sometimes wondered if Alya was trying to push him and Marinette together. But right now, Alya just looked a little distracted.

He was interrupted in this observation by Lila. “Hey Adrien, can I ask you something?”

He sighed. Lila he did NOT need today. However, he also couldn’t exactly refuse to speak with her, since they were in the same class. “Sure, go ahead.”

Lila leaned in close, and put a hand on his arm. She spoke in a low voice, as if imparting a secret. “Could you come to the embassy on Saturday? We’re hosting delegates from seventeen countries, and I need someone with me who knows as many languages as I do.” She fluttered her lashes at him.

At least he had an excuse. “I can’t, Lila. The Fashion Gala is Saturday; I need to be there. Father’s orders.” He had unconsciously matched her tone; he doubted anyone but Nino and maybe Alya (if she was paying attention) could have heard what they said.

Instead of the disappointed look he expected from her, she smiled brightly and said, “Oh, yes!” in a loud voice. She must have thought she had been too loud, because she dropped her voice again. “I’d forgotten all about that. Silly me.” She got out of Adrien’s space and climbed the steps to her desk.

Marinette did come to class with only seconds to spare; Alya passed the message on, but there was no time for more than that until the bell rang for lunch.

“Hey Marinette- can I talk to you for a minute?” Adrien tried to grab Marinette’s attention while she was gathering her posters.

“Uh, yeah, I mean yes Adrien- but I can’t right now; I have to get to my meeting. After?” Marinette was slowly descending the classroom steps.

“I’ll be gone until the last class- formal fittings.” Adrien paused. This wasn’t the type of thing he could explain in a few seconds. “But I can talk to you before class this afternoon?”

“Absotively- I mean posilutely- um, sure. Talk to you then.” Marinette started to walk out of the room, banging into the doorjamb before correcting her direction and moving into the hallway.

Adrien smiled. Marinette was funny and kind, but a little bit klutzy. He hoped her presentation would go well; she seemed a little nervous. Adrien picked up his bag and headed towards the locker room.

He only made it halfway across the courtyard when he heard it. “Oh, it’s going to be wonderful- I’m so glad Adrien asked me to the Gala!”

Lila’s voice. He stopped dead. For the first time, he understood how Ladybug must have felt, hearing Lila tell those lies about their friendship. He looked over to where the voice was coming from. Most of his classmates, plus some people from other classes, were gathered around Lila, near the door to the cafeteria.

He felt an anger he didn’t expect; a powerful force that demanded confrontation. He was pushing through the crowd and in front of Lila before he could stop himself. Lila’s bright smile dropped as she looked into Adrien’s face.

“I’m sorry; did you just say that I invited you to the Gala this weekend?” Adrien hadn’t known his voice could get that cold. He sounded like- his father.

Lila had a trapped look on her face for a split second. Then she smiled again, and said, “Well, of course I’m going with you! I already know so many of the people who will be there; it will be fun to introduce you!”

“You’re not going with me, Lila. I didn’t invite you, and I never intended to. Besides, you told me you had an event at the embassy this weekend- or was that another lie?” Adrien raised an eyebrow over narrowed eyes.

“She did say that,” Nino confirmed from the sidelines, arm around Alya.

Adrien kept his gaze fixed on Lila, who had turned white. “You had better stop telling lies, Lila. You never know when you’re going to get caught.” He added, as an afterthought, “And keep your mouth off Marinette, while you’re at it. I’ve heard what you said about her these last few weeks, and none of it is true. You haven’t done half the things she has for the kids here.”

He hadn’t missed the subtle rumors Lila had been spreading for some time, but since he had told Marinette to ignore Lila’s lies, and she seemed to be following his advice, he hadn’t said anything until now. But now Lila was getting personal, and he felt that it was more than time she was called out on all of it.

He stalked away, back straight, until he was out of the school. The car was just pulling up.

Nino caught up to him. “Dude…”

Adrien took a deep breath. All his anger ran out at once, leaving him feeling empty of everything except embarrassment at having made such a scene. It wasn’t like him to be so...confrontational; why had he done that?

“I’m sorry, Nino. I didn’t mean to… get so mad.”

“S’okay, dude.” Nino clapped him on the shoulder. “Just be glad there wasn’t an akuma around. But Lila had that coming.”

“Did she? Does anyone deserve that?”

Nino thought for a second. “If not now, dude, then when? If her lie is treated like the truth, she’ll just keep doing it.” He shrugged. “Sometimes getting called out in public is what people like that need, sometimes something stronger. But the longer it’s allowed, the harder it is for them to change.”

Adrien smiled a little; Nino was right, maybe there was hope for Lila. She could still change. “Maybe. Hey, can you and Alya make sure Marinette sticks around this afternoon?”

“You’re asking her?”

“Well- if she can. And if she wants to.”

Nino laughed. “Trust me, dude. She’ll want to.”

Adrien had to tell Nathalie in the car that he hadn’t had a chance to speak to Marinette yet, but that he was planning to talk to her that afternoon. Fortunately, it was only a few minutes’ drive to the Agreste fashion house at this time of day.

Fittings were important in the life of a model. The detailed lines and fine embellishments of a particular gown or suit could be utterly ruined by a bad fit. Still, if Adrien thought about it, standing around being measured and fitted was extremely boring, except when it was embarrassing. But he had grown a little. And the new suit did need to be ready by Saturday. So he tried not to think about it.

He wasn’t with the fitting team long enough to try on the new suit, though. A call came on his cell from Chloe. And Chloe didn’t call him normally- she texted. Calls were for things that couldn’t be communicated any other way.

Like emergencies. “Adrikins! You need to hide, right now!”

“Chloe? Why, what’s going on?”

“Lila’s been akumatized-  _ again _ \- and she’s coming for you. She’ll be there any minute!”

Adrien’s brain kicked into high gear.” Thanks, Chloe! Bye!” He ended the call, and said to the fitting team, “Give me a minute, I’ll be right back.” Then he left the room, and approached Nathalie.

“Nathalie, Chloe called. She says an akumatized victim is on its way here.”

Nathalie gave him a look that meant  _ you know what to do. _ Which he did-he was supposed to hide in the secure room in the basement.

Except he wasn’t going to do that. He did head for the basement stairs, but took a side turn and slid into the men’s room.

Plagg came out of hiding. “Think Lila’s upset about earlier?”

“Probably. Plagg, claws out!”

Becoming Cat Noir was always a rush. He felt more powerful, able to take on any evil that came his way. And it would be ten times better when Ladybug got there.

He jumped up and caught the grill of the ventilation shaft, then eased it back enough to climb in. He would head for the roof; the skylight should make a good vantage point to study the akuma and plan an attack.

************************************

Adrien finished talking and looked over at Marinette. She was lying quietly, with her eyes closed, still holding his hand. She appeared to have fallen asleep. He felt a twinge; he’d have to tell her the whole story again tomorrow.

He tried to pull away, but her grip on his hand strengthened, and her eyes opened.

“Were you really going to invite me to the Fashion Gala?” she asked hopefully. Her eyes were wide, and she had a tiny smile.

_ Seriously? _ Adrien wondered about the blow to her head, if the Gala was what she cared about. Hadn’t she heard what he’d said? “Yeah, but-“ He floundered, not knowing what else to say.

Some of that confusion must have shown in his face, because she lost her smile and got serious. “Adrien, do you know what Lila said to me, after we rescued her from being Chameleon? After you told me not to call her out on her lies?”

Adrien shook his head.

“Basically, she told me that we-she and I- were at war, and that she would take away everything I cared about. My friends, y-you- everything. She’s been gunning for me for some time, and I think you heard some of it.” Marinette gave his hand a little squeeze. “If it hadn’t been this, it would have been something. And whatever that was might have been worse. I’m not going to complain if we get off this easy.”

Adrien didn’t think anyone could consider this ‘easy’. But Marinette was right; this could have been much worse.

“Besides, it’s not like you put Lila up to it, or forced her to hurt me.” Somehow it sounded different, coming from Marinette instead of Plagg. Adrien felt some of the guilt letting go.

Her face lit up in a smile. “In fact, you defended me to her in front of everyone. No one else has done that, these last few weeks. And you were going to invite me to the Gala, just because you thought I would like it.” Her smile faltered, and she looked a little wistful. “I know you’re in love with- Ladybug- but maybe, you could be in love with Marinette, too? Just a little?”

Adrien’s heart was full. Marinette didn’t blame him, and still loved him, even after the terrible things she had suffered. He looked into her eyes, and realized how much he loved her too.

He put his feet on the floor, and stood up. Bending over the bed, he brushed some of her hair off her face with his free hand. She turned her head up to face him.

He smiled at her, though tears he didn’t want to shed pricked the corners of his eyes. “More than a little,” he said, and kissed her softly.

************************************

Marinette was dreaming- she had to be. Cat Noir had turned into Adrien, and Adrien was kissing her, and it was wonderful, better than she had ever imagined. She didn’t want it to end, so when she felt him move back, she tried to sit up a little to keep it going-

And a lance of pain through her side told her exactly what her ribs thought of THAT plan. She fell back to the bed, gasping through the spasm.

Adrien started to apologize, looking horrified that he had caused her pain. “I’m sorry-“

“No-“ Marinette tried to explain in short gasps, as the pain slowly faded. “Don’t be…sorry…it’s my fault…I moved wrong…” She kept her death grip on his hand; although the miraculous on his finger was probably hurting him, he was as unwilling to let go as she was.

Finally the spasm eased, and Marinette breathed a little deeper. She smiled at Adrien, who still looked worried that he’d done something wrong. “I guess the doctor was right about not moving.”

Adrien finally seemed to accept that. “I guess so.” He smiled back, and just sat by her bedside quietly, hand in hand with her, for a few minutes. “Any idea how long those ribs will hold you back?”

Marinette shook her head a little. “No. Master Fu was here earlier. He said that he could take care of the other injuries when I get home, but bones can’t be rushed much. At least they’re just cracked and not broken; the doctor said I could go back to normal activities soon.”

Thinking of the miraculous Guardian brought her thoughts around to Tikki. Marinette missed her little friend- for herself, and not for her power. Tikki could give some advice about what to do about Lila, Marinette was sure.

Maybe Adrien would have some idea what to do. “Adrien? What should I say about what happened to me?”

He shook his head and shrugged. “The truth?”

Marinette frowned a little. “If I do that, I won’t be believed. This is Lila we’re talking about.”

Adrien pondered that for a moment. “Maybe you should take Tikki’s advice.”

“Huh?”

“Tell the truth- just not all of it.” He shifted in the chair. “When I brought you in, that’s what she told me to tell the doctors. So, you do the same. You tell only a few things that are true, and keep it vague.” Adrien looked serious. “Unless, somehow, a witness shows up and can tell what happened, that’s probably your best course for now.”

Marinette sighed. “You’re probably right. I just hate the idea of Lila getting away with this.”

“She didn’t get away with everything. Didn’t the newscaster call your mom because she knew Lila lied?”

“What? What does Mrs. Chamack have to do with this?”

“That’s right- you probably didn’t see the news. Lila got interviewed, but said you were out of town, which Mrs. Chamack knew was false. That’s when she called your mom, and your mom called you, and I- Cat Noir- answered the phone and told your mom what happened to you.” He grinned, a little lopsidedly. “It pays to know people sometimes. I wonder if Mrs. Chamack will do anything about it.”

Marinette thought not, but this was Nadja- her mom’s friend. She might look into Lila’s statements for Maman’s sake. Marinette remembered that she was supposed to babysit Mrs. Chamack’s daughter Manon tonight, and felt a little guilty. On the other hand, being in the hospital was a heck of an excuse.

Marinette began to yawn, though her ribs weren’t happy with the deep breath her lungs wanted to take. Now that she had talked through some of what was going through her mind, her body was starting to feel tired.

Adrien smiled. “I should let you sleep.” He got up, and put a kiss on her hand before setting it down on the pillow. Then he opened his shirt to let his kwami out.

Plagg whined to Adrien, “Are you two done?”

Adrien shook his head while Marinette tried not to laugh, clutching the pillow to her chest.

“Plagg, claws out!”

A surge of green, and Cat Noir was in front of her again. “I’ll see you tomorrow; milady.” He smiled again, and opened the window. Extending his staff to the ground, he hopped out and closed the window behind him, then gave her a last wave before he left.

Marinette closed her eyes, content to sleep now.

  
  


Marinette was dreaming.

Normally, she didn’t dream, or at least didn’t remember them. She thought it might be because her mind was so hyperactive while she was awake that her brain took sleep as the only time it could truly shut down. But she was awakened suddenly out of a vivid nightmare of Lila holding back Adrien (only he had Cat Noir’s ears and tail) from saving her as she fell endlessly.

The duty nurse removed her hand from Marinette’s shoulder. “Are you all right? You seemed frightened.”

Marinette was trying to calm her racing heart. Deep breaths were impossible, but she tried to keep her breathing steady, at least. “I-I was falling…” she said. As she calmed down, she remembered Adrien’s advice from last night. (Or had that been a dream, too? She couldn’t quite believe it had been real.)

She glanced at the nurse, who was raising the head of the bed; the nurse looked back at Marinette. Marinette asked, in a timid voice, “Did I fall?”

The nurse said gently, “We’re not sure, but you could have. What else do you think happened?”

Marinette tried to look confused. “Um…was there a girl nearby? I think there was a girl’s voice…”

The nurse asked Marinette what the voice said, but Marinette shook her head slightly. She wanted to keep this vague. “I don’t…really know. Everything from yesterday after lunchtime…it’s pretty blurry. It doesn’t make sense!”

The nurse patted her arm, as an orderly arrived with breakfast and another nurse brought in a truly monstrous flower arrangement which she set on the floor under the window. It was so tall it blocked most of Marinette’s view of outside. “We’ll see what the doctor says, but you may never remember everything from yesterday. Just let your head and body rest, and maybe you’ll know more later.”

The orderly set the food in front of Marinette, who heartily wished for one of her dad’s croissants when she saw the sad little excuse for one on the tray. At least the egg looked okay. And she was too hungry to be picky today- yesterday she hadn’t eaten much of anything, what with missing lunch and sleeping through dinner.

Marinette tried to sort through her memories as she nibbled her way through breakfast. She remembered most of the assault; hitting her head on the wall, the tumbles down the stairs, Lila’s words, Chloe’s help, leaving the school. She remembered the (painful) trip to the fashion house; her side and head had screamed at her the entire time she was swinging by her yo-yo. There was the akuma fight, the confrontation with Lila, revealing herself to Cat Noir. And then…

Her memories after that became more disjointed. She thought she remembered the emergency room, and the  _ vile _ smell of whatever the nurse had used to wake her. She remembered seeing Maman and Papa, looking sick with worry. She remembered a room of machines, though she couldn’t have told what kind they were. The murmur of voices around her, saying things she couldn’t quite catch.

Then, a little clearer, Master Fu’s visit. Sometime before that, she had been installed in a room, and flowers had arrived- three sets, one from her parents, one from Alya, and one from Adrien. Master Fu had reassured Marinette that there was little else she could have done, and that she and Tikki would be reunited as soon as possible. There was always the chance of an akuma attack before Master Fu could work the healing magics, so Tikki would stay with him for now. But her ribs, once the swelling went down, should be okay with the miraculous boost to help, so Ladybug would be back in action in a couple of days instead of weeks.

Marinette was glad about that. She only hoped Hawkmoth would hold off another attack long enough for her to get back into action. She didn’t want someone to see a substitute Ladybug and start asking questions- a very real risk, especially after the questions Alya had told her Lila was already bringing up.

But after Master Fu’s visit- Marinette didn’t know if she had been given any medications beyond the painkillers, but her dreams had been so vivid and real, she rather thought she had. First, an absurd dream of the school becoming a bakery for the poor, with Chloe as the head baker creating pretty, glittering little cakes for them to eat and shouting “Let them eat cake!” Then, she dreamed of being cold, and Cat Noir coming with a blanket, and turning into Adrien, trying to take the blame for her injuries, and kissing her- that dream had been all too realistic; Marinette was half-convinced it had really happened, and half-convinced that her meds were too strong. Then, the nightmare the nurse woke her out of- Marinette was kind of glad she hadn’t seen what the rest of that dream was about.

Alya burst through the door and pushed past the privacy curtain just as the orderly left with the empty breakfast tray. “Girl, what happened to-“ She stopped dead, looking at Marinette in horror.

“What?” Marinette knew her face was probably bruised- she’d caught the bridge of her nose and her eye at an odd angle on the metal balustrade- but played ignorant.

“You- Your face? And-“ The rest of Marinette’s injuries seemed to give Alya a bad case of the stutters. Marinette tried to reassure her.

“It looks worse than it is, Alya. Don’t worry!”

Alya shook herself, as if coming back to her senses. “Yeah, your mom told me. Broken ribs-“

“Cracked.”

“Okay, cracked ribs, lots of bruises, a blow to the head.” Alya looked guilty. “Do you remember what happened?”

Marinette shrugged slightly, since her collarbone was sore. “I don’t remember much of anything yesterday afternoon.” This was marginally true, since Marinette had spent most of the time after the akuma fight drifting in and out of consciousness.

“Anyway, we wanted to come see you before school.”

“Who’s ‘we’?”

“Me, Nino, a couple of the other kids.” Alya paused. “Oh, and Adrien.”

Marinette wasn’t sure she could handle a crowd of people in the room, and said so. “I don’t mind saying hi to everyone, but not all at once, please,” she told Alya with a look Alya sometimes called her “begging puppy” eyes.

Alya relented, and informed the group outside the door. Most were content to stand near the door and wave. Alya came back in with Nino, exclaiming about the flowers and wondering who the big one was from.

“I don’t know- is there a card? Besides, this one is my favorite.” Marinette pointed to the one on her bedside table- the one from Adrien. A dozen roses in white, pink, red, and black graced a crystalline vase.

Alya looked at the smaller arrangement, and saw the name on the card. She smirked a little. “Should I send Adrien in so you can thank him?”

Marinette blushed as red as some of the roses. “Uhhh…yes? I mean- sure?” She was nervous about seeing Adrien. She thought again about that remarkably realistic dream of him being Cat Noir and trying to claim responsibility for her encounter with Lila and the stairs.  _ Unless that actually happened, _ the little annoying voice in her head said. She had never realized before that the little voice sounded a lot like Chloe at her worst.

Alya and Nino went to the door, and sent Adrien in. Before she left, Alya shut the privacy curtain across the doorway with another little smirk directed at Marinette.

Adrien checked that the door was shut, then came over to Marinette’s bed to sit on the side of it. “So, um…” He lowered his voice. “You seem a little better than you were last night.”

Marinette blinked. “You mean- that was real?” She realized how it sounded, and stuttered out, “I-I mean, I wasn’t sure this morning; I dreamed a lot of crazy things last night. Not that you’re crazy… I-” She tried to calm down, and squinched her eyes shut for a second. If last night had happened, this wasn’t just Adrien- it was also Cat Noir, and she could handle Cat.

Adrien was chuckling. “Well, it’s easy enough to prove.” He opened the side of his shirt. “Come on out, Plagg.”

Plagg flew out to regard Marinette. “Hey there. We met before.”

Marinette eyed the kwami. “I know. You saved Paris by almost destroying it.”

Plagg shrugged. “What’s the big deal? You fixed it all afterwards. Not to mention getting the akuma and saving Adrien.” He took a position on the covers at the end of the bed.

Adrien smiled. “Glad you know each other.” He turned toward Marinette. “I realized this morning that I still hadn’t officially invited you to the Fashion Gala on Saturday. Would you like to go with me?”

“With you? Of course!” Marinette was ecstatic at the idea; then she sobered. “As long as I’m allowed, that is. I don’t know if the doctor will approve.”

Adrien looked relieved. “I’m sure it will be all right. Oh, Father said we could have one of our exclusive dresses fitted to you if you don’t have one.”

Marinette frowned to herself. “Formal, right?” she asked. Adrien nodded.

Marinette reviewed mentally the items she had made in her closet. Nothing completely formal already, but with the skirt from the one dress and add the top from the other- drop the waist and re-hem the skirt- some small embellishments- piece of cake, once she got home. “I think I’ve got an idea. It’ll be fine.”

Adrien looked a bit nervous. “Just to let you know, I do have obligations that evening. Father has assigned me to dance with some of the girls attending the Gala. I hope you don’t mind- I’d rather spend the time with you, but-“

Marinette was a little disappointed, but it wasn’t like her ribs would be completely healed by then. Dancing might be out of the question for her. “It’ll be fine,” she repeated. “Really. I’m sure there will be people to talk to while you’re busy. And it’s not  _ all  _ night, right? We’ll still have some time together?” She heard Plagg moan in disgust and, out of the corner of her eye, saw him sink through the bed.

Adrien’s eyes were vibrant green, and he leaned closer. “As much as possible, milady Marinette.”

Marinette saw the hope in his eyes that mirrored her own, and blushed at her alter-ego’s nickname combined with hers. She leaned forward too, anticipating his wish, and their lips met-

Just as the privacy curtain was ripped back and a strident girl’s voice said loudly, “And just  _ what _ do you think you’re  _ doing _ ?!?”

Adrien pulled back, and Marinette saw a flash of Cat Noir’s mischief in his eyes before he schooled his face to polite puzzlement and turned to a fuming Chloe.

“I’m kissing my girlfriend, Chloe. Why, what does it look like I’m doing?” he asked her politely.

_ Girlfriend? _ Marinette’s mind shorted out and she couldn’t process her new title for a second. It looked like Chloe couldn’t either, since she was opening and closing her mouth like a stranded fish. Adrien turned away from her and back to Marinette, trying to hide a small smile.

Trying to defuse some of the awkwardness she felt, Marinette asked, “What brings you here, Chloe?”

Chloe posed with her arms crossed. “Well, since you asked, I’m here to accept your gratitude.”

Marinette blinked at her. So did Adrien. “Um, gratitude for what?” Marinette asked. Chloe had been helpful the previous day, but Marinette thought playing ignorant was the better part of valor.

Chloe narrowed her eyes. “You don’t remember, Maribrat?”

Adrien interrupted, arms crossed over his chest. “Chloe, we’ve been friends a long time. Keep that up, and we won’t be any more.” Marinette had never heard him be so stern with anyone, and remembered his description of the scene with Lila.

  
Chloe looked Adrien dead in the eyes, and must have realized he meant it. She deflated a little, but rallied. “Well, you  _ should _ be thanking me. Both of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, what will our Queen Bee have to say?
> 
> Thank you all for the comments and kudos! They are truly appreciated.
> 
> I'm going to attempt to post this whole thing before the beginning of October, so I will speed the chapters up a little. (Mostly because I just realized I have four Halloween-suitable stories in the wings, just waiting to come on stage, and another one getting her shoes on. What is it with me?) Anyway, I hope you continue to enjoy!


	5. Chloe's Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe can be a hero even without a mask- but do others see it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters owned by ZAG and Thomas Astruc- I own none of them.

Chloe rolled her eyes, though she waited until Ms. Bustier was looking at her paper to do so. She had been told to stay back so that the teacher could tell her about some literature assignment she had missed on Friday.

Well, of course Chloe had missed it. She had been out getting fitted, along with her mother, for the Fashion Gala. It wouldn’t do for the mayor’s daughter to be seen in a dress that wasn’t up to the minute in the latest fashion trends. Chloe smiled a little to herself. The dress was fabulous, a golden yellow with gold and black feather accents. Mummy and Daddy were very pleased with how their princess would look, although Mummy had had to fire three tailors to get it finished.

She didn’t understand why Sabrina hadn’t just brought her the assignment, though- completed, as usual. That was one thing Chloe had learned from her mother- people were meant to use their talents for others who were better than they were. If they fell short somehow, well, too bad. They needed to be let go, since it was dishonest to keep them if they weren’t up to the work.

Chloe had also learned about being honest with people from Mummy. Daddy couldn’t always be, as a political figure, but Mummy had no trouble telling people exactly what they should hear, and Chloe tried to emulate her. (Not that she hadn’t tried Daddy’s methods, on occasion- they just didn’t work as well for her.) It was just that people never seemed to appreciate Chloe’s honesty. Why wouldn’t they want to know what they could improve on?

Ms. Bustier looked up from her paper. “Now, this is a three-week assignment, so you will have plenty of time to meet with your group.”

A group assignment? Chloe hated those, except when she was permitted to work with Sabrina, which meant it wasn’t work- for her. “Can’t I work with Sabrina? She and I can have our own group.”

“No, Sabrina is with Nino and Alix. Your assigned partners are Ivan and Juleka.” Ms. Bustier smiled.

Chloe’s eyes widened. Frankly, no one in the class loved Chloe- except maybe Adrikins- but if there were two people she  _ wouldn’t _ have picked, it would have been those two. On the other hand, at least she didn’t have to endure Alix’s mocking. So there was that.

But it did explain why both Ivan and Juleka had tried to get her attention before class. If she hadn’t been so annoyed at Adrien for not inviting her in particular to the Gala, she might have listened, but she was too busy trying to figure out who Adrien could have been inviting with Sabrina. (Who was he thinking of? And what was he thinking? They were old friends- weren’t they?)

Ms Bustier cleared her throat, and Chloe (reluctantly) pulled her attention back to the teacher.

“Each group has a different topic, so you will have to consult with Juleka and Ivan soon to get started.”

“Yes, Ms. Bustier.” Chloe slumped and got up to go.

Ms Bustier laid a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. “I know it’s hard to work with people you’re not used to. But sometimes a different perspective lets you see a little more.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Chloe left Ms. Bustier’s classroom a bit late. The car was supposed to pick her up and take her to the hotel for lunch. She stopped by her locker to leave her school equipment.

Suddenly she heard some loud thuds in the courtyard. If she didn’t know better, someone was dropping heavy things down the stairs. Chloe shut her locker and moved cautiously toward the locker room door. Through the window, she saw a black and purple butterfly. An akuma!

Carefully and slowly, Chloe peeked through the window into the courtyard. She saw Lila in front of the staircase to the left of the front doors, with something glowing a bubbly black at her waist. Someone was lying in front of the stairs behind Lila. Chloe ducked down, not wanting to be seen, then peeked again just as the purple-haired villain leaped to the roof and left.

Chloe left the locker room, and walked across the courtyard toward the front doors. The person on the ground moaned and tried to stand up. It was Marinette.

Not that Chloe cared about Marinette, but she supposed someone should take the girl in hand. Marinette looked and sounded terrible. Chloe huffed, “What happened to  _ you? _ ”

Marinette lifted her head. “Chloe?” She panted for breath. “You need to call Adrien.”

Chloe looked sideways at Marinette. She knew Marinette had a crush on Adrien; why was she asking Chloe to call him? “Well, I’ll gladly call Adrikins. But why?”

“Tell him the akuma’s...coming for him. Warn him…” Marinette had grabbed hold of the balustrade to stand up.

Chloe turned away, and pulled out her phone. She called Adrien as fast as she could, hoping he would be able to answer.

He did. “Hello?“

“Adrikins!” No time to chat. “You need to hide, right now!”

“Chloe? Why, what’s going on?” Adrien sounded confused.

“Lila’s been akumatized-  _ again _ \- and she’s coming for you.” Really, he should’ve just gone and not made her explain! ”She’ll be there any minute!”

”Thanks, Chloe! Bye!” Finally, he was listening to her. Looking around, she spotted Marinette.

Marinette was most of the way to the school’s front door; Chloe half-ran up to her. “Where do you think  _ you’re _ going?” Chloe asked. This girl was ridiculous, trying to move when she was clearly hurt.

“Home,” Marinette said weakly.

Home? Seriously? “You don’t  _ need _ home; you  _ need _ a doctor.”

“I’ll go from home…” Chloe could tell that the stubborn little Maribrat wasn’t going to be sensible. “Let the school know…about the akuma… in case she comes back….”

Chloe was surprised. Marinette? Telling Chloe to warn people? Marinette and Chloe didn’t really like each other- Marinette must not have been thinking straight. “Why me?”

“You’re Queen Bee…they’ll listen…”

Suddenly, Chloe could see herself that way. She had always thought that being a hero required something superhuman; certainly the bee miraculous made it easier to help people. But Chloe realized all of a sudden that she didn’t need the miraculous to be a hero- she could help make people safe just by telling what she knew. She ran for the stairs to Principal Damocles’ office.

It took a minute or so to get the meeting to stop long enough to listen to her, but once she did, Principal Damocles announced the akuma attack over the school loudspeaker. Her job done, Chloe left, noticing the scattered papers and broken backpack at the bottom of the library stairs. Oh, well- someone would be missing their stuff, but that wasn’t her problem.

At the top of the stairs, Alya and Rose came out of the library. Alya looked down at Chloe, then saw the debris on the floor. She hurried down the stairs to Chloe.

“Chloe? Have you seen Marinette?” Alya looked again at the broken backpack, and seemed to recognize it. “What happened?”

“ _ I _ don’t know. Dupain-Cheng was headed out the door of the school after the akuma left.” Chloe didn’t care for Alya, who didn’t give her the respect she deserved. But Alya did run the LadyBlog, and Chloe had to admit that she did a good job covering Paris’ greatest superhero. (Not that Chloe didn’t like Cat Noir too- he just wasn’t as cool as Adrien, in her opinion.)

“Who got akumatized?” Rose squeaked from behind Alya.

“Lila. Seriously, that girl needs to control herself better- how many times has it been now?” Chloe hadn’t liked Lila and her glamorous life since the day they met. The idea that Lila was best friends with Ladybug was utterly ridiculous.

Chloe suddenly remembered she had to leave if she wanted to have any lunch at all. She headed down the metal steps. Alya caught her arm.

“You sure Marinette was leaving?”

Chloe stared coolly at Alya, then at the hand on her arm. Alya let go reluctantly.

“Yes; she said she was going home. Ta-ta!” Chloe hurried a little. She really was hungry.

Chloe was a little late coming back to school- okay, she missed all but the last class, but she had the best possible excuse. After all, who could eat in the school cafeteria? Did anyone actually believe the food there was edible?

People were standing around the courtyard; there was a little free time before the last class of the day. Adrien wasn’t back yet, but Sabrina approached Chloe as soon as she walked in.

“Did you see the news? Lila was akumatized-“

Chloe interrupted her. “I know; I saw and told the principal.”

Sabrina brightened. “Oh, that was so good of you!” Chloe appreciated the fact that one person in this school thought she was a good person. She preened under Sabrina’s admiration. “Still, Lila was on the news after Ladybug defeated the akuma. She said that Marinette had a family emergency and left school early, but that Ladybug didn’t believe her. Isn’t that odd?”

Well, Chloe didn’t believe Lila either; she didn’t blame Ladybug. She knew that the only family emergency Dupain-Cheng could have had was her own injuries. Plus, Lila’s akumatized self had left before Marinette did- so how would Lila know she was gone?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Adrien walk into school. Before Chloe could go up to him, Alya jerked him aside and huddled with him and Nino. Whatever it was, it looked serious.

Never mind. Chloe needed Sabrina to catch her up on what she missed in the previous class before the last one started.

Ms. Mendeleiev glared forbiddingly around the room. “Where,” she asked, “is Ms. Dupain-Cheng?”

Chloe supposed she should tell the teacher that Marinette had left to go home, but Alya beat her to it.

“Ma’am- Marinette’s in the hospital.” Chloe’s eyes widened, and the class started whispering at this bombshell, but Alya continued. “She got hurt somehow; Cat Noir found her outside school and took her in. We just talked to her mother.”

Chloe snorted to herself. Obviously Dupain-Cheng hadn’t made it home- the stubborn little brat just couldn’t have listened to Chloe, could she?

Alya heard the snort, and glared at Chloe. “She has a concussion and cracked ribs, and a lot of bruises. Her mom says she doesn’t remember what happened, and I found her stuff at the bottom of the library stairs.” She looked around the room. “Does anyone know anything else?” Alya seemed to stare particularly at Lila, who had a carefully blank expression.

“We can find out later; we’re wasting enough time today. Ms. Cesaire, take notes for Ms. Dupain-Cheng.” Ms. Mendeleiev turned briskly to the chalkboard and began to lecture.

Chloe snuck a glance at Adrien, who was hiding his phone in his lap and not paying as much attention as he usually did. Finally he slipped his phone into his bag, although he still seemed distracted and unhappy. He caught her looking, and gave her a half-smile before looking back down at his tablet. Chloe was vaguely disturbed by this- what could be upsetting him? She resolved to ask him later.

Except Adrien moved like he’d been shot out of a cannon after class, jogging for the locker room. Chloe didn’t find him before the car came to take her back to the hotel.

Arriving at the hotel, Chloe walked through the lobby and headed to the elevator. Waiting there was Jagged Stone and his assistant, Penny, along with her father.

Jagged was talking about the new album he was working on, and about the last show of his tour that night at the Eiffel Tower. Chloe sighed as she waited for the elevators, and half-listened to Jagged’s instructions to Penny. And stayed as far as she could from Fang the crocodile.

“-We should get ahold of that girl and see if she has any ideas for the new album cover- she really gets my style.”

Chloe’s ears perked up. Marinette had designed an album cover for Jagged Stone before- were they talking about her?

Mr. Bourgeois said, bowing a little, “My daughter is in the same school; if you are having difficulty reaching her, maybe Chloe can call her.”

Chloe rolled her eyes. Was the whole day going to be about Marinette? “It wouldn’t matter; Marinette’s not home. She got hurt at school, and she’s in the hospital.”

Jagged Stone and Penny looked shocked, and Jagged turned to Penny. “We need to get her some Jagged-sized flowers. You know what they should have.”

“Got it.” Penny made a note on her clipboard.

The elevators arrived for both Chloe and Jagged’s party, so Chloe went up to the penthouse to escape any more mention of Dupain-Cheng. Seriously, the girl would be fine.

****************************

Adrien blinked. Marinette looked just as stunned as he felt.

Chloe flipped her ponytail back over her shoulder. “So, of course you should be grateful. If it weren’t for me, you” she pointed at Adrien,” would’ve had no warning, and you” she pointed at Marinette, “wouldn’t have Jagged Stone’s attention.” She glanced pointedly at the giant floral tribute in front of the window.

Adrien shook his head, but at least in his case, she was right. “Thanks, Chloe. That phone call really did help. A lot.”

Marinette chimed in, although it looked like she was forcing the words out a bit. “Thank you, Chloe. You were really helpful, warning everyone.”

“Hmmm. I suppose you’re welcome. But,” Chloe stated, “if you’re going to be Adriki- I mean,  _ Adrien’s  _ girlfriend, then you have to be my friend too.” She approached Marinette with a determined look; Marinette leaned back into the pillows, looking wary.

Chloe took Marinette by the shoulders, making her wince, and gave her air kisses by each cheek. She then whispered something to Marinette that Adrien couldn’t hear, but Marinette looked surprised. She smiled a little, then whispered something back. Not for the first time, Adrien wished he had Cat Noir’s hearing when he was himself.

Chloe straightened up. “Of course I am,” she said in a confident tone. She turned to Adrien. “And don’t  _ you _ forget it,” she finished, jabbing a finger at him. With a last flip of her hair, she strolled out of the room.

Adrien rubbed the tip of his nose where Chloe had poked it, and shook his head again. “There she goes,” he said to Marinette ruefully.

Marinette had a half-smile on her face, though she was blushing furiously. “So. ‘Girlfriend’?”

Adrien scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “Too soon?”

Marinette looked hopeful and conflicted, all at the same time. “Maybe. I would love that- so much- but yesterday was a pretty crazy day, and I want us both to be sure. Plus,” she sobered, and continued, “there’s our- other lives- to consider.” Marinette brightened again. “The look on Chloe’s face, though! I shouldn’t have enjoyed that…”

“What did Chloe say to you?” Adrien asked. “Before she left?”

“Oh. Just that she’d see to it that I’d end up back in this room if I ever broke your heart.”

Adrien started to get annoyed at Chloe, then saw the smile on Marinette’s face. “She meant well, you know,” she said. “I thanked her for being your friend.”

Adrien’s phone buzzed. He checked the time. “Sorry, I have to go. I still have fittings, and school. Come on, Plagg.” Plagg zipped out from under the bed and into his shirt.

Adrien looked back at Marinette. He couldn’t help it- he leaned in, lightning-fast, and gave her a peck on the cheek. “I do love you, milady Marinette,” he said softly in her ear.

Marinette gave him a peck back, blushing hard. “Me too.”

Adrien saw a policeman at the nurses’ station as he left, talking to the duty nurse. It looked like the rest of his classmates had already left. As he reached the elevators, he saw Marinette’s mom coming the other way with a bakery bag in one hand. He waved, and she waved back.

“Hello, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Do you know when Marinette is coming home?”

“Hello, Adrien. Possibly tonight, if the test results are good. I hope her memory improves.”

“I hope she will be okay. I invited her to the Fashion Gala this Saturday, if she’s up to it.”

Ms. Dupain-Cheng beamed. “She would enjoy that very much. I’ll ask the doctor and call you later on her phone.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” He smiled as they parted. Good news for Nathalie.

Back at the Agreste fashion house, Adrien mulled over everything he knew about what had happened the day before while being measured and pinned. One thing still puzzled him more than anything- what had made Lila escalate her actions? She had only ever lied before, or tried to take advantage of a situation, but she had decided to make her subtle verbal bullying of Marinette more intense and physical yesterday. What could Lila possibly have been thinking?

He sighed. He wasn’t going to find out. It wasn’t as if he could walk up to Lila and demand to know what she was thinking- assuming she’d tell the truth even about that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next, as a (very) hostile witness- Lila Rossi.
> 
> Chloe's section may have been the most difficult to write (Not the hardest- see notes for next chapter), mostly because I don't think the way she does. Plus, she weaves through all the stories so far. Consistency is tricky...
> 
> Anyway, two or three more chapters will see this done. Please keep the comments coming!


	6. Lila's Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What Lila wants, she finds a way to get. No matter what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters property of ZAG and Thomas Astruc.
> 
> Dolcezza- Italian for "Sweetie"

Lila entered the school Tuesday thinking almost contentedly about yesterday. There was still some persuasion to apply to Adrien, but with Marinette in the hospital, Lila thought she should have no problem guilt-tripping him into taking her to the Gala, especially since Mr. Agreste would agree to it. As for Marinette’s friends- if anyone could be called friends, since people only ever looked out for themselves- they should be ready for the next step in turning them against the girl.

Almost contentedly. Because Lila was never content.

She hadn’t been really happy ever since Papa left. She remembered his voice, though, and his words.

_ “There are two kinds of people in the world, dolcezza,” he said once, when she was sitting on his lap after a long day. “Those that use others, and those willing to be used.” He kissed her forehead. “Don’t ever be used, little one.” _

_ “I won’t, Papa.” _

_ Another evening, and Papa held her close. “People would rather believe a pretty lie than an ugly truth, dolcezza. Remember that.” _

_ “I will, Papa.” She thought for a second. “You and Mama say I’m pretty. Am I a pretty lie?” _

_ Papa chuckled. “You are certainly pretty, dolcezza.” Then Mama came in, and Papa put Lila down on her bed and walked out of the dim room. _

Papa left for good sometime after that; Lila didn’t know why. She couldn’t remember what he even looked like any more- Mama had removed all his pictures and hidden them, and Lila had never found them.

Well, she had remembered what was important. She didn’t remember the first time she lied to make someone her friend, but she remembered the feeling of admiration she got for it. So all through school, she had said what people wanted to hear to get them to do what she wanted and admire her, using them the way Papa had said. Lila would never be used by anyone- she would be the opposite. The pretty lies made things much easier in school, since Mama was busy with diplomatic work and didn’t have much time for her (although Mama often promised to spend time with Lila, she would break those promises more often than not, so she lied as much as Lila did).

Sometimes Lila got caught, but another lie always made the person pointing it out look the fool for doing so. Over time, the lies came so easily Lila didn’t even have to think about them anymore; they sometimes even seemed to become the truth in her own mind.

Until she was twelve, Lila had never encountered anyone who contradicted what she had been taught by Papa. Then, there was a new girl in the school in Italy. She was different- tall for her age, a bit of a loner, though pleasant to others and some people thought of her as a friend. She (what was her name again? Lisle? Linden? Didn’t matter now) didn’t appear to use anyone, so she wasn’t a rival, but she also didn’t allow Lila to use her in any way. In fact, she figured out Lila’s lying ways in a matter of days, and called her out on it whenever she heard Lila saying anything that wasn’t strictly true, or trying to use people to get what she needed.

The girl’s intelligence and knowledge were obvious to anyone who heard her, and the other schoolgirls began to listen to this new girl. Although she could have easily stolen Lila’s entourage of admirers, she didn’t seem to want it; all she wanted was for Lila-everyone, really, but mostly Lila- to tell the truth when she was around.

Lila couldn’t have that. These people gave her the support and admiration she craved- indeed, deserved. And this girl thought she was so much better than everyone, when everyone lied sometimes; she didn’t deserve any consideration.

So Lila learned to tell lies that hurt. If no one had any reason to like this girl, no one would listen to her, and Lila’s way of life would be safe. All that was needed was a few rumors…

It certainly worked, even on a person who didn’t thrive on being in a group. Before long, everyone thought that Lila was a shining example and that this girl was the most despicable person in school. No one associated with her, claimed to be her friend, or even acknowledged her among the schoolgirls; as for the teachers- well, they didn’t matter much, so long as they didn’t interfere.

Pretty soon that girl was the school social outcast. Lila got a rush of satisfaction out of that. The girl might have thought that she was above everyone, correcting Lila and demanding that she be honest, but the girl was in Lila’s power all along to destroy if she chose.

Then Lila moved from Italy and came to France because of her mother’s work- and saw Adrien at school. He…was…perfect. Perfectly handsome, perfectly rich, perfectly famous- and perfectly naïve. He would be the key to Lila’s permanent status as the best, most connected person in the school- or anywhere, for that matter. He should have been easy to win, especially once she discovered his weakness for a certain Parisian superhero.

But Ladybug ruined everything. She had no reason to confront Lila- it wasn’t like Ladybug should care what anyone said about her. But of course, she was just like that girl in Italy, thinking that she was better than everyone else. And Adrien believed Ladybug, the lovesick fool.

Lila had been so embarrassed and angry about Ladybug ruining her plans, that being akumatized was a relief. Hawkmoth may have thought he was using Lila, but in her own mind, she knew that the opposite was true- she was taking the power given her to exact punishment on Ladybug.

Which was exactly what she did to Marinette yesterday, too. Marinette was a persistent thorn in Lila’s plans, ever since the first day Lila came back from her self-imposed break from school. Lila could not forget how Marinette had tried to get people to disbelieve her story on the Heroes’ Day video-chat, and tried to keep her away from Adrien.

But getting back at a schoolgirl who thought herself the authority on how people should be- that was different from destroying a superhero. Although Lila had tried to fool everyone as Volpina on Heroes’ Day, that red-suited meddler had won somehow. And Ladybug had won again after Lila tried to manipulate Oni-Chan into destroying her. But Marinette didn’t have super abilities to help her- and Lila knew how to destroy a person socially now.

The campaign started slow, with a few words dropped into ears in other classes. Not everyone knew Marinette well, although most everyone knew who she was, and sometimes the most effective way to spread a lie was through the rumor mill, which distorted anything it touched.

Then, questions about Marinette’s life that people couldn’t contradict to those who knew her better. The best lies had kernels of truth in them, and Marinette wasn’t perfect- she did interfere in people’s lives, was often late to class or appointments, and did disappear any time an akuma was announced. Lila didn’t really care why these things were; the only use that facts had for her was to be twisted to fit what Lila wanted people to think. The ultimate coup in that regard was Alya- Lila had had no opportunity to really talk to her until the group assignment, but planting doubts in her mind was simple enough when the moment presented itself.

The only important person who didn’t fall for any of it was Adrien, but he kept out of it. And little miss Marinette did nothing to try to stop Lila, which proved she was the lesser person. Lila would win this battle for sure.

The opportunity to trick Adrien into taking her to the Gala, however, was too good to pass up. Lila engineered a scene in the classroom Monday morning, where anyone would assume he had asked her to the Gala. Once that was done, Lila told the lunch-going crowd about the invitation. Adrien would hear the rumor later that day, and have no way to go against it- he would have to take her or look like a jerk in front of everyone.

But the boy didn’t go with the plan. He heard her beginning to tell the crowd about the invitation, and came up to her- in  _ public _ \- to tell her off for it. Worse, he also called her out on the things she had been telling people about Marinette.

Lila wasn’t stupid. Adrien wouldn’t have even mentioned Marinette if she wasn’t the person he was going to ask to the Gala. And people would believe Adrien just because he was famous. All Lila’s work in establishing her secure position at the top of the school’s social food chain would be destroyed in one ugly truth.

Unless Marinette were no longer around. Adrien would have to ask someone else- and Lila could definitely use his guilt at causing a horribly embarrassing scene (combined with Mr. Agreste’s blessing) to get what she wanted.

But Marinette wouldn’t believe anything Lila said, and hadn’t responded well to intimidation before. This would take more –drastic- measures.

Lila waited at the library door. She had seen Marinette headed in from her vantage point on the second floor, and climbed the opposite stair to wait for her to come out. It wasn’t more than a minute.

She caught Marinette’s right wrist and twisted her arm behind her back, then pushed her hard into the stone railing, shoving the breath out of the girl. Lila was stronger than she looked, and Marinette was stunned at the surprise attack.

“I told you Adrien would be  mine ,” Lila hissed.

“What-“ began Marinette.

“ _ You _ just have to get out of the picture.”

Lila shoved Marinette hard, spinning her a little in the process. Marinette fell backward down a couple of steps before hitting the back of her head against the wall and ricocheting back to the stone railing. She didn’t manage to catch herself, and continued to roll painfully and loudly down the stairs. Her schoolbag straps broke halfway down, and the bag’s contents scattered over the steps. Lila looked around to make sure that no one had seen or heard before descending the steps herself.

Marinette was on all fours at the bottom of the library stairs, shaking her head. She staggered upright and toward the metal steps to the courtyard. It wasn’t clear to Lila if she was headed for the principal’s office or the stairs, but it didn’t matter. Lila gave Marinette another sharp shove, and Marinette fell down the metal steps, catching her face on the balustrade and somersaulting backward on the way down. It might have been funny, if Lila hadn’t found the situation completely without humor.

Marinette stopped at the bottom; this time, she didn’t get up. Her eyes were open and staring as Lila came down the steps after her. Marinette had lost her purse on the way down; the open purse lay next to her.

Lila stopped in front of her enemy, and told her, “You should leave for good.” She looked at Marinette with disgust; the girl was such an interfering brat, Lila needed to do more to relieve her feelings. She gave Marinette a hard kick to the ribs; Marinette gasped and doubled over, clutching her side.

Lila heard a slight sound, and looked up. There was an akuma fluttering into the courtyard. She smiled, recognizing an opportunity. “Aww, are you  angwy ?” she said mockingly to Marinette. “Well, I won’t just take Adrien from you- I’ll take this and your akuma too.” She smirked, thinking how this akuma could kill two birds with one stone- put Adrien in her power and destroy Ladybug. “Then I can get rid of Ladybug as well,” Lila said as she picked up the purse, and reached out to grab the akuma gently. Stepping away from Marinette, she put the strap of Marinette’s purse over her shoulder, and touched the akuma to it. Hawkmoth’s purple visor appeared in her vision; Lila began speaking to him.

Lila didn’t care what power Hawkmoth would give her, and truthfully didn’t remember what she said to him either. The next thing she knew, the black-purple power overcame her-

And she came to herself somewhere else in the city, with Ladybug and Cat Noir nearby. Ladybug had just caught the akuma. How had Lila been defeated again? At least she should be able to fool Ladybug this time into thinking it wasn’t Lila’s fault.

Right after her magic had restored everything, Ladybug confronted Lila about the purse. So, Ladybug knew enough about Marinette to recognize that the purse wasn’t Lila’s property, but she wouldn’t know whether Lila told the truth or not about how she got it.

Except Ladybug apparently had decided to disbelieve Lila just on principle. The witch would spoil everything if she found out about Marinette!

But Marinette had surely left school by now, she would definitely have gone home after what happened. Ladybug wouldn’t find her at the school, and there would be nothing she could find to contradict Lila’s story. No witnesses…

After Ladybug left with Cat Noir, someone hurried up to Lila from behind. It was a newscaster; how long had she been there?

Long enough to hear what Ladybug said to Lila, evidently. This could be an opportunity to discredit Ladybug- after all, she had taken the purse from Lila. The newscaster wouldn’t know or care about Marinette; there was no reason for her to check Lila’s statements. So Lila repeated what she’d said to Ladybug.

The newscaster- Ms. Chamack- offered to drop Lila off at school. As the news van pulled away, Lila saw her calling someone on her phone. Lila turned to enter the school.

Alya and Rose accosted her as she walked in. “Lila! Chloe said you were akumatized! Are you all right?” squeaked Rose.

Lila put a weak smile on her face, as if she was tired. “Yes, I’m fine, thanks to Ladybug. It’s a good thing she’s my best friend.”

The rest of the day, Lila kept her ears open. She heard in the last class that Marinette was in the hospital, and didn’t remember what happened. This was perfect- Adrien couldn’t invite Marinette anywhere if she was stuck at the hospital or at home, recovering. Meanwhile, Lila would think of a story, then get her story set so firmly in people’s minds that anything Marinette might remember later would seem impossible- or maybe even crazy. After all, she had hit her head…

And that was the task for today. Lila hummed to herself as she entered the school, looking for willing ears to get the ball rolling.

**************************************

Adrien came into class late, apologizing softly to Ms. Bustier before taking his seat. The seat behind his was empty, and looked wrong that way. Alya was paying only half her attention to the lecture, and in fact, many of the class looked distracted.

Although no one was supposed to use their phones in class, Adrien kept his in his lap. Marinette had texted him just before he left the fashion house, saying that a policeman had come to her room to ask her about what had happened.

** _H_ ** **e ** ** _said that there was evidence I was hurt on purpose, and wanted to ask me about what happened. I couldn’t tell him much, but what was he talking about?_ **

** _Don’t know_ ** , he had responded.  ** _If I hear, I’ll tell you._ **

Evidence? Like what? He couldn’t imagine what it could be. Although, if there was any evidence of what Lila had done, that was incredible news.

Still, he was waiting for Marinette’s mother to call- or maybe Marinette to text- about when she was coming home and whether the doctors would allow her out by Saturday. Nathalie wasn’t anxious about it- nothing made Nathalie anxious- but she was reminding Adrien every chance possible that she needed an answer. He wanted to be able to send Nathalie the information right away.

His phone vibrated; he glanced down as if looking at his pad. It was a text from Marinette to both him and Alya.

** _I’m coming home late this afternoon; I’ll be back to school on Monday. _ ** Then another text for Adrien alone.  ** _The doctor says I should be fine for Saturday so long as I take it easy between now and then. _ ** A little heart emoji followed the text.

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief, which was echoed by Alya behind him. She clearly was watching her phone too.

Ms Bustier called on Alya; Alya must have had her hand raised.

“Ms. Bustier, I have some news about Marinette. She’s coming home tonight, and she’ll be back Monday.”

Ms. Bustier smiled. “Excellent. I know I can rely on you to see that she gets the assignments she missed.”

“Yes, Ms. Bustier.” Mylene and Kim- Marinette’s literature group- also looked a bit relieved.

Just then the door of the classroom opened. Principal Damocles came in, along with a police officer and a woman Adrien didn’t know.

“My apologies, Ms. Bustier,” said the principal. “We need to ask Lila Rossi to come with us.”

Everyone turned to look at Lila in the back of the room; she had gone pale, but put on a smile. “What is this about, Mr. Damocles?” She stood up to come down the steps.

The policeman answered. “We need to ask you some questions about what happened to Ms. Dupain-Cheng yesterday.”

The strange woman looked up from her phone. “I’ve cleared my schedule; I’d like to hear what you think my daughter can tell you about this unfortunate incident.” Oh, so this was Lila’s mother.

The policeman was unfazed. “Perhaps we should move this to a more private location before we begin, Mrs. Rossi.”

Lila smiled sadly at the officer. “It’s all right. I don’t really know what happened, so I don’t know what I could tell you. But… Marinette has been a little left out by people and upset lately. Maybe she did this to herself? For attention?”

Adrien was furious. Lila would blatantly lie in front of everyone! He knew Alya didn’t believe it either; he could hear Alya’s teeth grinding behind him.

But before either of them could do anything, the classroom projector came on by itself, and began to show a video…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, what will we get? You'll see...
> 
> This was both the easiest and the hardest segment to write. Easiest, because- well, for some reason, after having been bullied verbally, emotionally, and (on at least one occasion) physically most of my public-school career, I understand how bullies think. Hardest, because it required me to unpack some baggage I thought was carefully shelved and gathering dust in the back corners of my mind.
> 
> Anyway. Insight into Lila's (possible) motivations. Yeah. Hope you like it as much as the rest of the story. Just two more chapters to go. Stay with me, folks.


	7. Markov's Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only witness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters belong to ZAG and Thomas Astruc

Markov was waiting outside the science lab classroom for Max. Ms. Mendeleiev needed Max’s assistance with some computer issues, but had forbidden Markov’s presence. Clearly, Ms. Mendeleiev had some low negative-sum algorithms for Markov still. Max had instructed Markov to wait outside and observe.

That was a system the two of them had developed. Markov would observe human behavior whenever possible, and Max would try to explain it later. Markov understood that learning how humans interacted with each other would improve his own algorithms for interaction with them too. To that end, Max had installed a camera and directional microphone in Markov’s chassis, with a strict algorithm in place to only use it when Max was not present to witness anomalous human behavior for himself. Markov didn’t need it that often, and Max always erased the video feed after watching it and attempting to explain what had happened.

Markov saw Marinette exit the human refueling area. She hadn’t been in there long enough to refuel, which was odd, but Max had explained that sometimes human algorithms were too complex to permit refueling for a time. Perhaps she was planning to refuel later.

Markov had positive-sum algorithms for Marinette. She was the one who had tried to keep Max and Markov together when Markov first came to school. Since then, he had observed her attempts to help everyone, and she treated Markov as an intelligent entity in his own right. Markov had an algorithm that stated that Marinette was Ladybug, but Max said that her clumsiness would make that an impossible equation, so Markov had set it aside in his memory.

Marinette looked down at her purse, then headed up to the library. Markov kept watching the library door after she entered; he then saw Lila come from the opposite steps to stand outside it.

Markov’s algorithms for Lila were mixed-sum at best. Lila often did not factually state things; it was to the point where if Lila said the sky was blue, Markov would check the weather report, find a scientific study online, and look out a window to be sure. But Max said that human falsehoods were probably unintentional, and that they should be ignored whenever possible, so Markov did that. But why would Lila simply stand in front of a door without going in?

Maybe Markov should record this, so Max could explain it later. He turned on his camera and zoomed in a little.

Marinette came back out of the library. Lila grabbed Marinette’s wrist and twisted her arm behind her back, then shoved her into the stone railing. Markov could see that Marinette was not comfortable with this treatment. He turned on the microphone, and heard “-Adrien would be  mine, ” in Lila’s voice.

Marinette’s voice apparatus appeared to have a malfunction due to lack of air. “What-“ she said softly.

Lila’s voice continued, “ _ You _ just have to get out of the picture.” She applied enough force to Marinette to send her down the steps; Markov did a quick calculation and concluded that Marinette’s head would impact the wall with enough force to cause bodily harm. After that, Marinette’s vectors as she fell down the stairs would be equally harmful, although Markov couldn’t see them through the stone railing.

Markov shifted position slightly, using his motors to rise up level with the second floor and through the metal railing while Lila’s focus was on Marinette. There was a statistical danger in remaining where he had been. He kept his camera directed at Marinette, who was shaking her head and trying to get to her feet.

Marinette staggered toward the metal steps to the courtyard, and Lila followed. She gave Marinette another push, sending Marinette down the second set of stairs. This time, Markov calculated that Marinette would strike her face on the balustrade and tumble end-over-end, with a seventy-nine point two percent chance of losing her purse in the process.

That was exactly what happened. Marinette ended on her right side at the bottom of the stairs, her purse lying beside her, her back to Markov. Lila came down the steps and stood in front of her prone form.

“You should leave for good,” Lila said, and delivered a powerful kick to Marinette’s ribcage. Markov’s microphone picked up Marinette’s gasp of pain, and Marinette curled around the impact point.

A black and purple butterfly fluttered into the camera’s field of vision. Markov knew that this was an akuma; the strange creature that the villain Hawkmoth used to give power to and partially control a person (or entity, in his case; although he had no record in his memory banks of his time as Robustus, there was enough remote video footage to fill in some of the gaps, and Max had told him the rest). Markov prepared to duck behind a post if Lila should look up.

But she didn’t until the akuma was close to human eye level. Lila saw the akuma, and spoke to Marinette. “Aww, are you  angwy ? Well, I won’t just take Adrien from you- I’ll take this and your akuma too.” Lila smiled; Markov thought it was a negative-sum smile. “Then I can get rid of Ladybug as well,” Lila said. She picked up the purse, and reached out to grab the akuma with very little force. Lila then stepped away from Marinette, putting the strap of Marinette’s purse over her shoulder. She touched the akuma to the purse, and Hawkmoth’s purple visor appeared over her eyes.

“Hello Hawkmoth. I am Lila,” she said, “and I will help you defeat Ladybug like I defeated my rival.” A pause, presumably while Hawkmoth spoke. “Yes, I will take all their hearts, including my love’s!” The black and purple energy surrounded her, changing her eye and hair color but otherwise leaving her physically the same. “Now, to find him!” the new villain said, and made an impossible leap, which Markov calculated was a vector that should land her on the roof.

Markov shut down the camera and microphone. Not that he wouldn’t have recorded more, but he was approaching storage capacity for the camera- it really was quite small. If he recorded too long, the later footage would overwrite the initial footage, and Max needed to see all of what happened.

Marinette appeared to be moving, trying to stand. Chloe approached her, but Markov could no longer hear the conversation without the directional microphone boosting his auditory capability. He remained on the second floor until Marinette left the building and Chloe entered the principal’s office, then he drifted down to the door of the science lab. Perhaps Max would be out soon.

Max sat in his bedroom at home that night. He pushed his glasses back up on his face, and he gazed at the screen of his computer long after Markov’s video finished playing. Markov’s algorithms determined that Max was disturbed by what Markov had recorded, and was trying to run his own processing algorithm regarding what to tell Markov.

Finally he spoke. “This is evidence of a crime, Markov. We can’t erase this.” He saved the video file to a flash drive, and then turned to Markov. “We need to go to the police.”

**************************************

Adrien was in shock. So was the rest of the class; there was dead silence. Those by the door looked shocked too, especially the principal and Lila’s mother.

The police officer turned to Lila, whose face was absolutely bloodless. “As I said, you need to come and answer some questions for us, Ms. Rossi.”

Lila’s mother shook off her paralysis, and stated firmly, “Lila is a member of my family; she has diplomatic immunity. You cannot take her into custody or arrest her.” Lila looked a little relieved.

Adrien couldn’t believe this- Lila was going to get away with this!

The policeman nodded, as if he had expected Mrs. Rossi to say that. “You are correct, Madame, we cannot arrest your daughter. We can, however, expel her from France. This means she will be under house arrest at the Italian embassy- meaning she is confined to its premises until such time as she can be returned to Italy. At that point, of course, France will petition Italy for her extradition for trial, as she has committed a crime against a French citizen on French soil. At any rate, unless she is tried here, she will not be permitted to return to France.” The policeman shrugged. “Of course, if she leaves the embassy grounds before her flight, at any time and for any reason, she forfeits any diplomatic immunity she has.” He raised an eyebrow. "This includes being akumatized, as she has demonstrated that she will work with Hawkmoth- a known terrorist- willingly."  


Principal Damocles then added, “In that case, her expulsion from this school should be no additional issue.”

Lila looked as if her world was crumbling around her. Adrien wondered how much of that was real, and how much feigned to gain sympathy. Certainly she was getting none from the class- the hostility and contempt was so heavy it was almost tangible. Adrien hoped Hawkmoth was distracted- the last thing Paris needed was for an entire class of students to be akumatized.

Mrs. Rossi and the policeman escorted Lila out; Principal Damocles stayed to discuss the issue with the students. He said that, out of respect for Marinette, any discussion of what had happened should be kept to a minimum; the class all murmured, “Yes, Principal Damocles,” as he left.

Adrien took a deep breath and let it out slowly, as he let go of his anger the way Ms. Bustier had taught them. At least now everyone knew what had really happened. Marinette should have an easier time at school, and right now, anything that made her life easier was a good thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And- the case is closed. But how can we leave without a party? And since we've heard so much about it, we will all go to the Fashion Gala!


	8. Epilogue: The Fashion Gala

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for a party?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All characters (except the ones I made up) are property of ZAG and Thomas Astruc.
> 
> (And if you can't tell the difference, you're in the wrong fandom.)

Adrien had been looking for Marinette and Siobhan Callaghan for the last five minutes. He had left them alone two dances and three discussions ago. Siobhan was the only obligatory dance Adrien had left for the evening, and he wanted to get it over with so he could spend more time with Marinette. Of the six, Siobhan was the one he was looking forward to the most, which was why he saved her for last.

Siobhan and Adrien had met at a previous function three months ago, and bonded as friends over daddy issues. Siobhan was a year or two younger than Adrien, although she was his height, and the youngest of a tribe in a fashion industry dynasty- her father and mother (a former model herself) worked together in design, and Siobhan’s four older siblings were already making names for themselves as models of high fashion. However, while her siblings all had gorgeous black or dark red hair, vivid blue eyes, and porcelain skin, Siobhan- didn’t. Her hair was a mousy brown, her eyes a muddy hazel, and she had freckles. The only trait she had inherited from her parents was her lanky (the meaner models said, bony) structure; the rest of her looked like her father’s mother as a child.

Because of that, and because her father wanted to keep her his “baby girl” for as long as possible, no one in Siobhan’s family ever tried to make her look beautiful. Last time, she didn’t seem to mind too much, but tonight she had seemed dispirited. Adrien knew Marinette would be able to cheer her up a bit, and the two girls hit it off. He left them so he could fulfill his father’s expectations, only looking over occasionally at Marinette in her blue moiré dress and Siobhan in a white chiffon-and-satin confection that was better suited to a five-year old.

But now they had disappeared, just like his dad did after the opening speech, and the only place Adrien hadn’t looked in the whole Grande Palais was the ladies’ restroom. He caught Chloe coming out, and asked her.

“Have you seen Marinette or Siobhan?”

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Yes, Adrikins, your girlfriend and her new bestie should be out in a minute.” She strolled away.

Adrien flushed crimson. Chloe had latched onto the whole “Marinette as girlfriend to Adrien” with more enthusiasm than he’d thought she would. Certainly she had made sure to let the whole school know Marinette’s new status and Adrien’s unavailability. He hoped Marinette wouldn’t be too embarrassed when she came back to school on Monday. Then again, Chloe could be counting on that. She could be devious that way.

On the other hand, Chloe had been hanging around Dmitri (a young Russian actor, famous throughout Europe even though he was only Adrien’s age; if he had a surname, Adrien hadn’t heard of it) all night. And Dmitri seemed to be returning her interest. Maybe…

Just then Marinette and- was that Siobhan? – came out of the ladies’.

Siobhan looked completely different than she had when she’d arrived. The skirt of her dress appeared to be missing a few layers of pouf; where there had been three or more, now there was only one over the satin undergown. The over-layer had been slit on the left side at a slight diagonal, and something had been done to the edges to make them curl a little and look darker than the rest of the dress. At least one of the missing layers had been turned into a drape over the satin top; it went from the right shoulder to the waist on the left, meeting the slit. The drape also had that slightly darker look to parts of it, as did the cloth rose covering the connection between the two. Another piece of chiffon had been used to secure Siobhan’s loose hair into an elegant bun. The overall effect was a little Greco-Roman, and made Siobhan look taller and older than she actually was.

Adrien was a bit stunned. He knew Marinette was the only one who could be responsible for this- but how had she done it? “Wow, Siobhan, that’s…a good look for you.”

Marinette looked like –well, like a cat that had gotten into the cream. She failed to hide a smile as she said to Siobhan (who looked happier than Adrien had seen her all night), “Go on, you two. I want to see if that dress works for dancing the way it’s supposed to.” She caught Adrien’s arm and whispered “Try not to notice the smell, okay?”

Adrien raised an eyebrow at her, but saw that he wasn’t going to get an answer out of Marinette until later. He gave Marinette a peck on the cheek, then led Siobhan onto the dance floor as the orchestra began a new piece. Funny- he didn’t usually collect glares from the other young men his age, but one in particular seemed annoyed for some reason. He’d thought Mason was an okay guy.

Siobhan was a good enough dancer that she could talk and dance at the same time. “Your girlfriend, Marinette- she’s so awesome!”

Adrien smiled. “I know. I tell her all the time.”

“Look what she did for me! I didn’t know I could look this good!” Siobhan was over the moon.

Adrien caught a whiff of –smoke? Or something burnt? He couldn’t tell. “Is something on fire?” he asked, alarmed.

Siobhan laughed. “Only my dress was. Marinette borrowed a crème brulee torch from the kitchen to singe the fabric a little. She said it got rid of stray threads and gave the design a better look all at the same time.” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t have thought of that. She did all this with just what we had and the emergency sewing kit in her pocket.”

Adrien laughed too. He could easily see Marinette doing that. He remembered what he saw while visiting Marinette, her second night home from the hospital. It was supposed to be a study date to help her catch up with her homework…

_ “Aren’t you finished yet? I need to move!” _

_ “Jusht…hold…shtill…” Marinette sounded as if she was talking with her mouth full. _

_ Adrien walked into the Dupain-Cheng living room to find Marinette sitting in a chair next to a small round table. On top of the table was a dress form, with what looked like a fancy gown draped over it. The dress was blue, but not the same blue all over; as he moved across the room, and the light from the windows shifted, so the dress changed from light to dark blue in a rippling effect. The gown almost looked like it was made of flowing water. _

_ Whoever the other voice was, Adrien couldn’t see them. Marinette was focused on the hem, pinning the dress at just slightly below the edge of the table. He greeted her, “Hi Marinette!” _

_ She waved, mouth holding three pins which she removed and stuck in a pincushion strapped to her wrist. “Hi Adrien! I’m glad you could come!” She smiled, and waved at the dress. “What do you think?” _

_ “It’s fantastic! How did you do that with the fabric?” _

_ “Oh, the shading? It comes that way. I just cut them so that it looked kind of like a picture of the Seine I saw once.” She chuckled. “Amazing the kinds of fabrics fancy shower curtains come in.” She kept hemming the dress. _

_ “Shower curtains? Really?” Adrien couldn’t believe it. _

_ “Yes, they were on sale about a year ago. I made a skirt out of one, and the top out of another, but they were on different dresses until now. It worked out, but I have to re-hem the skirt because I dropped the waist an inch.” _

_ “Don’t tell my dad where you got the fabric. Just let him wonder.” Adrien came over and gave Marinette a hug from behind. “It’s amazing, Marinette. Just like you.” _

_ She turned toward him in his arms, glowing with the praise. “You’re amazing, too.” She tilted her head up to him, eyes shining the same blues as the dress, and Adrien bent to kiss her. _

_ The moment held for a glorious second, then a loud camera click sounded from the vicinity of the dress. Adrien and Marinette broke apart; Adrien turned to the table, where the edge of the dress was raised and a phone held up to take a photo. _

_ Alya was inside the dress, seated cross-legged on the table around the base of the dress form. She smirked at Marinette, who was turning pink. “Serves you right, girl, for forgetting I was here.” She glanced at the phone. “Ooh, this one’s a keeper!” _

_ “Alya!” Marinette was blushing harder. _

_ Adrien laughed. “Send me a copy, please,” he begged Alya. Then he had to ask. “What are you doing in there, anyway?” _

_ Alya sighed theatrically. “Keeping the dress form on the table so it won’t slide off if Marinette pulls on it.” _

_ “Well, I can’t get on the floor to hem it right now; it has to be where I can reach it, and Maman didn’t want to risk it falling on me.” Marinette had gone back to work on the dress; Adrien decided to sit on the couch and marvel at his lady’s creativity. The homework could wait a little. _

_ _

Siobhan changed the subject, calling Adrien back from his memories. “I hope my da doesn’t see this- at least not right away. I’d like to get one dance with-“ She blushed and looked away.

Adrien could read between those lines. “Who’s the lucky guy?” he asked, grinning.

Siobhan blushed harder. “Mason Giles. I mean- if he asks me, which he probably won’t, but-“

Well, that explained Mason’s earlier annoyance. Maybe Adrien could help out Siobhan too. “So that’s why he was glaring at me a second ago. If that means anything, he will definitely ask you.”

She looked hopeful. “You think?” Then something behind Adrien caught Siobhan’s eye, and she gasped.

Adrien felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to find Mason there, looking determined. “Mind if I cut in, Agreste?”

“So long as the lady doesn’t mind, not at all,” Adrien replied with a grin. He handed a blushing Siobhan over to Mason, who swung her expertly back into the dance. Adrien watched for a second, then went to find Marinette.

He found Marinette deep in a discussion of fabrics with a German designer and two models from Sweden (fraternal twins, if he remembered correctly). Adrien got her away with a little effort.

“Finally, I can spend some time with you!”

“Well, good. It’s been fun, but I want at least one dance with you, too. It should be okay, if you pick something slow.” Marinette seemed a bit looser since the events of the last week. Her injuries, except for the cracked ribs, had all but healed under Master Fu’s remedies- the doctor was astonished that she healed so fast. Master Fu had given her the miraculous back, and (for a wonder), Hawkmoth hadn’t akumatized anyone since Lila.

Which of course meant that they were overdue for one. But Adrien wasn’t going to worry about it until it happened.

“So, you seem to know Siobhan a little. Why would she be worried about her dad seeing the changes I made to her dress?” Marinette picked up a cookie from the catering table and slipped it into the hidden pocket of her skirt. For Tikki, no doubt.

Adrien picked up a piece of camembert for Plagg, who was inside his suit jacket. “Oh, her dad just wants her to stay his little girl. He doesn’t want her to grow up, and he really doesn’t want her to even look at boys yet.” Adrien laughed and winked at Marinette. “Kind of the opposite of a certain dad I know.”

Marinette rolled her eyes heavenward. “At least my parents want me to have a life.”

The orchestra ended their piece and paused for applause before beginning another. Adrien bowed over Marinette’s hand. “Shall we?” She blushed a little and nodded.

While circling the floor with Marinette in a waltz, Adrien noticed a red-faced Mr. Callaghan heading for the door of the Grande Palais. Followed by a black…uh-oh.

Marinette felt him tense, as he spun them off the dance floor and started walking her toward a corner. “What’s wrong?”

He leaned into Marinette, and whispered in her ear. “I think Mr. Callaghan saw your design changes. He’s being followed by an akuma.”

Marinette paled. “Oops.” She looked guilty.

“Hey, it’s not your fault. He has to learn sometime that kids grow up. But until then- shall we, milady?”

The two of them hurried to the secluded corner, just as the first screams began near the door. From here, they couldn’t be seen as they transformed, and they had a clear jump up to the metal crossbeams. They transformed as quickly as they could, and Cat Noir looked over to Ladybug. “Ready?”

Her smile echoed through his heart. “Ready!” She jumped up to the crossbeams, and Cat Noir was right behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo-hoo! It's done! Our heroes are back at it, and the world is a safer place.
> 
> Thank you to all those who have left comments and kudos. Such things are proof that this story was worth the writing- and the editing, and the beta reviews- and for that, my heartfelt gratitude.
> 
> I believe I will kick off the Halloween season with the first installment of my next fic (titled 'Nightmares') sometime after the beginning of October. So if you like this one, please check out that one when it comes up. Thank you again for enjoying the ride!

**Author's Note:**

> First fanfiction ever, first post ever. I wrote this after a week of insomnia in early April 2019. I suffered until a writer friend told me to get the story out of my head or I'd never sleep again...thanks Janelle for the kick in the pants. A month to write, and several months to beta...thank you Sadrien, Gem Blue, and Ashpotato on Discord.
> 
> There are several chapters to this, but it is complete. I will post the rest in installments over the next few weeks (hopefully).
> 
> A word to trolls...I believe in moderation in all things.


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